The 1966 Pacific hurricane season started on May 15, 1966, and ended November 30, 1966. The season was of little note.
Hurricane Blanca The name Blanca has been used for eleven tropical cyclones in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
* Hurricane Blanca (1966), never affected land, travelled 4,300 miles during its lifetime.
* Tropical Storm Blanca (1970), did not make landfall.
* Tropical St ...
traveled 4,300 miles, setting a new record. During September and October of the year, Hurricane Helga and Tropical Storms Kirsten, Lorraine, and Maggie hitting Mexico. Kirsten caused 8 deaths and US$5.6 million (equivalent to $ million in ) in damages in Mexico.
Kirsten
Kirsten is both a given name and a surname.
Given name
Kirsten is a female given name. It is a Scandinavian form of the names Christina and Christine.Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale)"
Hurricane Adele
On the morning of June 20, the first tropical depression of the season formed south of Mexico. It initially went west-northwestward. On the afternoon of June 21, the depression strengthened into a tropical storm and was named ''Adele''. It continued north until the evening of June 22, when it strengthened into a category 1 hurricane and sharply recurved west. It made landfall west of Manzanillo, Mexico on the evening of June 24 and dissipated that day. Extensive damage was caused by Adele in Mexico but no deaths were reported. Adele was the shortest lived hurricane of the season.
Tropical Depression Two
On June 28, a tropical depression formed west of Central America. It remained weak and dissipated two days later, never threatening land. Tropical Depression Two caused no reports of damages or deaths.
Tropical Depression Three
Hurricane Blanca
On the evening of August 2, a tropical storm formed south of Mexico, skipping tropical depression strength. It initially went west-northwest until the evening of August 4 when it reached category 1 hurricane status. Blanca eventually leveled off as it headed westward. On the morning of August 7, Blanca weakened into a tropical depression after weakening into a tropical storm two days later. During the afternoon of that day, Blanca crossed into the Central Pacific as a 30-mile per hour
tropical depression
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
. Blanca regained tropical storm status on August 9 as it went northwestward. Blanca continued stair-stepping as it dissipated on August 12 while northwest of
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
, Hawaii. As Blanca never affected land, there were no reports of damages or deaths. Blanca set a record for the farthest traveling storm that formed in the Eastern Pacific by traveling 4,300 miles during its life. ( 1957's Hurricane/ Typhoon Della traveled 5,000 miles, but formed in the Central Pacific.)
Hurricane Connie
On August 7, a tropical storm was identified southwest of the Baja California Peninsula and named ''Connie''. It continued westward until three days later when Connie began to move northwest while remaining a tropical storm. During the morning of August 12, the storm crossed into the Central Pacific. The next morning, Connie was deemed to have become a hurricane with winds of 85 miles per hour. Connie was stable in intensity until the 15th when she weakened into a tropical storm while southeast of
the Big Island of Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii ) is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of , it has 63% of t ...
. Connie dissipated while almost directly south of Kihei on Maui.
Connie caused no reported damage or deaths in Hawaii.
Tropical Depression Six
Tropical Depression Seven
Hurricane Dolores
On August 16, a tropical storm was identified south of Manzanillo, Mexico and was named Dolores, the eight tropical depression of the season. During the afternoon of August 18, Dolores was noted to have more organization and became a hurricane. Dolores time as a hurricane was brief, Dolores weakened 24 hours after being upgraded. Dolores continued on her northwestward trek until August 23 when she became quasi-stationary and began to weaken. Dolores dissipated on August 25 while far away from land.
Tropical Depression Nine
Hurricane Eileen
On August 22, an area of low pressure gained enough organization and became Tropical Depression Ten. Two days later, the depression strengthened into a tropical storm and was named Eileen. Eileen headed northwest-ward as the slowly became stronger. On the morning of August 26, Eileen rapidly strengthened and became the seasons 5th hurricane.
Eileen stayed this was for 36 hours and her minimum pressure of 990
mbar
The bar is a metric unit of pressure, but not part of the International System of Units (SI). It is defined as exactly equal to 100,000 Pa (100 kPa), or slightly less than the current average atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea leve ...
was recorded.. Just before she recurved, she weakened into a tropical storm as she moved over cooler waters.
As she continued to recurve sharply, and on the night of August 28 (PDT time) she weakened into a remnant low. During the 26th, a ship sailed through the hurricane but there was no reported damage aboard the ship. Eileen also caused no deaths.
Hurricane Francesca
Tropical Depression Eleven formed due south of
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
, Mexico on September 5. The next morning, the depression became the season's sixth tropical storm and was named Francesca. Francesca entered a period of rapid strengthening for six hours as the storm's winds increased by and became the season's sixth hurricane. After this period of strengthening, Francesca leveled out and remained a hurricane until the morning of September 9 when it weakened prior to a southward dive as the result of interacting with nearby Tropical Storm Gretchen. Francesca continued to trek southward until the evening of September 11, when the storm very sharply recurved. Subsequently, Francesca weakened into a
tropical depression
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
as it went due east for 36 hours. Francesca degenerated into a remnant low on the morning of September 16. Francesca was the longest lived hurricane of the season by lasting eleven days. Wave action from Francesca and Hurricane Helga caused
beach erosion
Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward ...
throughout
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
Tropical Storm Gretchen
During the evening of September 7, a tropical disturbance that was near Hurricane Francesca became Tropical Storm Gretchen, bypassing the depression stage. Gretchen did not strengthen during her lifetime due to her proximity to Francesca and was nearly absorbed by her because Francesca disorganized Gretchen, the last advisory was issued on September 11. Because Gretchen never affected land, there was no damage or deaths reported from it.
Hurricane Helga
On the morning of September 9, a tropical wave spawned Tropical Depression Thirteen. The storm was quickly to intensify and was named six hours later. The tropical storm began to curve north and on September 12 Helga became the eighth, and last hurricane of the season. She remained at that intensity for 36 hours and then began to weaken. She had weakened into a tropical storm when she made landfall on the Baja California Peninsula and weakened into a tropical depression. The depression dissipated on the 17th while in the Mexican state of
Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to:
Places
*Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state
**Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state
**Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state
**Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state
**Chihuahua Mun ...
.
Helga caused the death of one person in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and also caused beach erosion throughout California and the Baja California Peninsula. The combined wave action from Helga and Francesca caused extensive damage throughout the region.
Tropical Storm Ione
On September 10, Tropical Depression Fourteen formed west of Tropical Storm Helga. The depression was slow to organize and became Tropical Storm Ione during the afternoon of the 12th. Ione's time as a tropical storm was brief and the last advisory was issued the next morning due to land interaction that weakened the system. Even though Ione dissipated near Mexico, the remnant low brought rain to Mexico. No deaths or damages were reported due to Ione when she was warned upon. While she was a low, there is no information.
Tropical Depression Twenty-Two
On September 10 a tropical depression was located by the Joint Hurricane Warning Center (JHWC) and was designated Tropical Depression Twenty-two and was heading westward. During the morning of the 12th, the depression passed 240 miles south of the island of Hawaii. It dissipated that night. The depression caused heavy rainfall throughout the
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...
during the 12th. The reason that this depression was named 22 is unknown, but it is probably because it was numbered with the Western Pacific storm numbers.
Tropical Storm Joyce
During the late evening of September 14, Tropical Depression Fifteen formed far away from land. The depression took a long time to strengthen and became a tropical storm for only 24 hours late in its life before cooler waters took hold of the system and made it a remnant low on September 20. Joyce was one of the shortest lasting storms of the season.
Tropical Storm Kirsten
Six days after Joyce dissipated, a new tropical depression formed while southwest of the Baja California Peninsula. This depression, like Joyce before it, took a long time to become named. The depression finally became named storm on September 28 while nearing landfall. Kirsten made landfall during the late morning of September 28 on the Baja California Peninsula. She made another landfall near
Los Mochis
Los Mochis () is a coastal city in northern Sinaloa, Mexico. It serves as the municipal seat of the municipality of Ahome. As of the 2010 census, the population was 362,613, which was 61 percent of the municipality's population.
Los Mochis is th ...
, Mexico later that day. Kirsten rapidly dissipated over land the next morning. Kirsten caused at least eight deaths in
Ciudad Obregón
Ciudad Obregón is a city in southern Sonora. It is the state's second largest city after Hermosillo and serves as the municipal seat of Cajeme, as of 2020, the city has a population of 436,484. Ciudad Obregón is south of the state's norther ...
and an estimated damage of $5.6 million (equivalent to $ million in ). Despite this, Kirsten was not retired, although the name Kirsten was not used in
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
due to a possible misspelling. In 1970, the name Kristen was used as a "K" name instead, but in
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
, the "K" name was changed back to Kirsten.
Tropical Storm Lorraine
Near the end of the season Tropical Depression Sixteen formed while south of Mexico. The depression quickly intensified and became a tropical storm and was named Lorraine. Lorraine made landfall west of Tecoman, Mexico and quickly dissipated. Lorraine brought rain to Mexico in areas that would get rain from Tropical Storm Maggie (see below) a few days later. Lorraine caused no reports of damage or deaths in Mexico.
Tropical Storm Maggie
On October 16, Tropical Depression Eighteen formed while south of Mexico. The depression, like Joyce and Kirsten before it took a long time to become a tropical storm. Finally on October 18 the depression strengthened and became Tropical Storm Maggie, the final tropical storm of the season. Maggie brought torrential rains to areas affected by Lorraine earlier in the month as she paralleled the Mexican coast. She finally made landfall near Manzanillo, Mexico and weakened into a
tropical depression
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
while near
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican beach resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas in the Mexican state of Jalisco.
Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadala ...
. The depression briefly emerged off the coast before making landfall near
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican beach resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas in the Mexican state of Jalisco.
Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadala ...
for the last time. Maggie dissipated shortly afterward. Maggie caused no reports of damages or deaths.
Other system
According to the
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...
and
Japan Meteorological Agency
The , abbreviated JMA, is an agency of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It is charged with gathering and providing results for the public in Japan that are obtained from data based on daily scientific observation an ...
, on October 20 Tropical Storm Kathy crossed the
International Dateline
The International Date Line (IDL) is an internationally accepted demarcation on the surface of Earth, running between the South and North Poles and serving as the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific O ...
, entering into CPHC's area of responsibility; however, this storm wasn't included into CPHC database. The storm eventually became extratropical on October 21 over open waters.
ACE (Accumulated Cyclone Energy)
Storm names
No names were retired from this list, so it was reused in the 1970 season. Except for the name ''Kirsten'', which was replaced by ''Kristen'' in that season, possibly due to a clerical error.
See also
*
List of Pacific hurricanes
This is a list of notable Pacific hurricanes, subdivided by reason for notability. Notability means that it has met some criterion or achieved some statistic, or is part of a top ten for some superlative. It includes lists and rankings of Pacific ...
*
1966 Atlantic hurricane season
The 1966 Atlantic hurricane season saw the Weather Bureau office in Miami, Florida, be designated as the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and assume responsibility of tropical cyclone forecasting in the basin. The season officially began on June ...
*
1966 Pacific typhoon season
The 1966 Pacific typhoon season was an active season, with many tropical cyclones having severe impacts in China, Japan, and the Philippines. Overall, there were 49 tropical depressions declared officially or unofficially, of which 30 of ...
*
1966 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
The 1966 North Indian Ocean cyclone season had no bounds, but cyclones tend to form between April and December, with peaks in May and November. The season has no official bounds but cyclones tend to form between April and December. These dates co ...