The 1962 Pacific hurricane season was a moderately active Pacific hurricane season that included two

hurricane 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 ...

landfalls. The 1962 Pacific hurricane season officially started on May 15, 1962 in the eastern Pacific and June 1, 1962 in the

Central Pacific Hurricane Center The Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) of the United States National Weather Service is the official body responsible for tracking and issuing tropical cyclone warnings, watches, advisories, discussions, and statements for the Central Pacifi ...

area of responsibility Area of responsibility (AOR) is a pre-defined geographic region assigned to Combatant commanders of the Unified Command Plan (UCP), that are used to define an area with specific geographic boundaries where they have the authority to plan and cond ...

and lasted until November 30, 1962 in both regions. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most

tropical cyclone 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 ...

s form in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. The first of two hurricane landfalls, Hurricane Valerie, struck northwestern Mexico in June. The other, Hurricane Doreen, hit further to the north of Valerie in October. The most impacting storm of the season was Tropical Storm Claudia, after its remnants dropped heavy rainfall in portions of Arizona. The rainfall left damaging flooding across rivers and towns. No people were killed, but damage totaled to $11 million (1962

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

). Moreover, Tropical Storm Bernie also made landfall along the Baja California peninsula, later providing rain to Arizona. An unusually high number of storms threatened the

Palmyra Atoll Palmyra Atoll (), also referred to as Palmyra Island, is one of the Line Islands, Northern Line Islands (southeast of Kingman Reef and north of Kiribati). It is located almost due south of the Hawaiian Islands, roughly one-third of the way bet ...

, where only 1% of known Pacific tropical cyclones have threatened. In all, a total of 16 storms were observed, which was above average though only two (Valerie and Doreen) reached hurricane intensity.

Seasonal summary

ImageSize = width:800 height:200 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/06/1962 till:01/11/1962 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/06/1962 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TD value:rgb(0.43,0.76,0.92) legend:Tropical_Depression_=_≤38_mph_(≤62_km/h) id:TS value:rgb(0.3,1,1) legend:Tropical_Storm_=_39–73_mph_(63–117_km/h) id:C1 value:rgb(1,1,0.85) legend:Category_1_=_74–95_mph_(118–153_km/h) id:C2 value:rgb(1,0.85,0.55) legend:Category_2_=_96–110_mph_(154–177_km/h) id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.62,0.35) legend:Category_3_=_111–129_mph_(178–208_km/h) id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.45,0.54) legend:Category_4_=_130–156_mph_(209–251_km/h) id:C5 value:rgb(0.55,0.46,0.90) legend:Category_5_=_≥157_mph_(≥252_km/h) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:11 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:24/06/1962 till:26/06/1962 color:C1 text:"Valerie (C1)" from:08/07/1962 till:10/07/1962 color:TS text:"Willa (TS)" from:17/08/1962 till:20/08/1962 color:TS text:"Ava (TS)" from:20/08/1962 till:22/08/1962 color:TS text:"Unnamed (TS)" from:24/08/1962 till:02/09/1962 color:C1 text:"Hurricane C (C1)" from:02/09/1962 till:06/09/1962 color:TS text:"Bernice (TS)" from:20/09/1962 till:24/09/1962 color:TS text:"Claudia (TS)" barset:break from:26/09/1962 till:30/09/1962 color:TS text:"Unnamed (TS)" from:01/10/1962 till:05/10/1962 color:C1 text:"Doreen (C1)" bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/06/1962 till:01/07/1962 text:June from:01/07/1962 till:01/08/1962 text:July from:01/08/1962 till:01/09/1962 text:August from:01/09/1962 till:01/10/1962 text:September from:01/10/1962 till:01/11/1962 text:October TextData = pos:(570,30) text:"(From the" pos:(617,30) text:" Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale)" With 16 named storms, the season was above the 1949-2006 average of 13 named storms and was the most active season ever recorded at that time; however, this record was broken in the

1968 Pacific hurricane season The 1968 Pacific hurricane season ties the record for having the most active August in terms of tropical storms. It officially started on May 15, 1968, in the eastern Pacific and June 1 in the central Pacific and lasted until November 30, 1968. T ...

, which saw 18 storms. Despite the activity, only two hurricane were observed and no major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) were noted. These totals are well below their long-term averages of seven and three respectively. This season was part of a decade-long absence of major hurricanes; during the 1960s, only one major hurricane was observed and none were noted from 1960-66. However, it is possible that some storms were missed due to the lack of satellite coverage in the region; at that time, satellite data was still scarce, and 1962 is still four years shy of the start of the geostationary satellite era, which began in 1966. Moreover, the

Pacific Decadal Oscillation The Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) is a robust, recurring pattern of ocean-atmosphere climate variability centered over the mid-latitude Pacific basin. The PDO is detected as warm or cool surface waters in the Pacific Ocean, north of 20°N. O ...

(PDO) was in the midst of a cold phase during this time period, which has a tendency to suppress

Pacific hurricane A Pacific hurricane is a mature tropical cyclone that develops within the northeastern and central Pacific Ocean to the east of 180°W, north of the equator. For tropical cyclone warning purposes, the northern Pacific is divided into three regio ...

activity. During the season, tropical cyclone advisories were issued by the Naval Fleet Warning Central (NFWC) in

Alameda An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile ...

, which held responsibility for the basin until 1970.

Systems

Hurricane Valerie

The first tropical cyclone of the season – Hurricane Valerie – was first observed on June 24, about 245 mi (400 km) west of

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

Guerrero Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...

. It moved northwestward along the coast, producing high seas and strong winds in southwestern Mexico. Valerie was estimated to have attained peak winds of 85 mph (140 km/h). It turned to the northeast and struck near

Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding ''municipio'', known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of ...

on June 25, dissipating early the next day.

Tropical Storm Willa

On July 8, Tropical Storm Willa developed south of the Baja California Peninsula. It maintained a west-northwestward track throughout its duration, remaining a minimal tropical storm. On July 10, the storm dissipated.

Tropical Storm Ava

In the middle of August, a tropical storm formed off the southwest coast of Mexico. Given the name Ava, it tracked to the northwest before turning more to the north. It dissipated on August 20.

Unnamed August tropical storm

As the previous storm was dissipating, another tropical storm developed to its west. Lasting only two days, it dissipated on August 22 about halfway between Hawaii and the west coast of Mexico.

Hurricane "C"

On August 24, satellite imagery indicated a hurricane with a defined

eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

was located over the central Pacific Ocean. It slowly weakened as it moved over lukewarm waters, and deteriorated more rapidly after

wind shear Wind shear (or windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizontal ...

increased. By August 28, the system consisted of a circulation with only weak associated convection. It weakened to a tropical depression on August 30, although it remained a tropical cyclone until September 2. At that time it was last observed about 200 mi (320 km) south of

Hilo, Hawaii Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. It is the fourth-largest settlement i ...

Tropical Storm Bernice

A tropical storm named Bernice developed on September 2 west of

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

. After moving northwestward for two days, the storm turned to the north, striking Baja California on September 6 before dissipating. The remnants of the storm later brought moderate rain to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Tropical Storm Claudia

Later in the month, another storm similar to Bernice existed. Tropical Storm Claudia formed on September 20 to the southwest of Acapulco. It maintained a general northwest movement for its duration. On September 23, Claudia crossed over the western portion of the Baja California peninsula, moved over water, and again struck the peninsula before dissipating. The remnant moisture caused severe flash floods in the vicinity of Tucson, with of precipitation falling over the headwaters of the washes of Santa Rosa, Jackrabbit, and Brawley during a 14- to 15-hour period. Over of rainfall also fell near the

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a 98-acre (40 ha) zoo, aquarium, botanical garden, natural history museum, publisher, and art gallery founded in 1952. Located just west of Tucson, Arizona, it features two miles (3.2 km) of walking paths ...

. The ensuing flood of the Santa Cruz River and its tributaries produced a path of destruction about long and up to wide. Santa Rosa Wash conveyed at its peak; Los Robles Wash carried up to , while the Santa Cruz River proper peaked at . The washes and rivers reached depths of up to , and overflowed its banks in places by . Flooding from the storm inundated the towns of

Marana Marana may refer to: * Maraña, a village in León, Spain * Maraṇa, the Pali/Sanskrit term for death * Marana, Arizona, a town in Pima County, Arizona, United States * Marana, Estonia, a village in Estonia * Marana, Syria, a village in Syria ...

and Sells, both in

Pima County Pima County ( ) is a county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,043,433, making it Arizona's second-most populous county. The county seat is Tucson, where most of the population ...

. Helicopters rescued 27 families from

Fort Huachuca Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation, established on 3 March 1877 as Camp Huachuca. The garrison is now under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is in Cochise County in southeast Arizona, appr ...

. There was one indirect death related to the flooding, due to an ambulance not being able to reach an elderly woman. The flooding also killed many cattle, and damage in Pima and Pinal counties exceeded $11 million (1962 USD), much of it from crop damage. The flooding prompted a disaster declaration by former governor

Paul Fannin Paul Jones Fannin (January 29, 1907January 13, 2002) was an American businessman and politician. A Republican, he served as a U.S. Senator from Arizona from 1965 to 1977. He previously served as the 11th governor of Arizona from 1959 to 1965. Ear ...

, which provided funds for the affected people.

Unnamed September tropical storm

On September 26, a tropical storm developed off the southwest coast of Mexico. The storm moved to the west-northwest for several days, dissipating on September 30.

September and October Central Pacific tropical cyclones

In September and October, satellite imagery indicated that there were five tropical storms in the central Pacific Ocean. The first, designated Tropical Storm "R", passed about 200 mi (320 km) north of Palmyra Island on September 28. It represented about 1% of storms in the basin to directly affect the island, after it produced westerly winds there. Tropical Storm "T" existed on September 29 without affecting land. Similarly, Tropical Storm "X" existed on October 2 over open Pacific waters. The next day, Tropical Storm "Z" passed near

Johnston Island Johnston Atoll is an unincorporated territory of the United States, currently administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Johnston Atoll is a National Wildlife Refuge and part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine Nation ...

during the

Operation Dominic I and II Operation Dominic was a series of 31 nuclear test explosions with a total yield conducted in 1962 by the United States in the Pacific. This test series was scheduled quickly, in order to respond in kind to the Soviet resumption of testing af ...

nuclear tests, although no impact was reported. Lastly, satellite imagery indicated Tropical Storm "A" on October 27 to the northeast of Palmyra Island.

Hurricane Doreen

The last storm of the season was Hurricane Doreen, which formed on October 1 off the southwest Mexican coast. It moved northwestward before curving to the north, although later it turned again to the northwest. Doreen was estimated to have attained peak winds of 85 mph (140 km/h). On October 4, Doreen made its closest approach to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula as it began a motion to the northeast. Later that day, the hurricane moved over southern

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

before dissipating on October 5. Hurricane Doreen was responsible for light rainfall in the

U.S. states In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, and

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betwee ...

Tropical depressions

There were two non-developing tropical depressions during the season. Surface observations and satellite imagery indicated the formation of a tropical depression about north of

Palmyra Island Palmyra Atoll (), also referred to as Palmyra Island, is one of the Northern Line Islands (southeast of Kingman Reef and north of Kiribati). It is located almost due south of the Hawaiian Islands, roughly one-third of the way between Hawaii an ...

on July 29. It moved west-northwestward without developing further, and eventually dissipated on August 2 over the central Pacific. On August 31, the

Joint Hurricane Warning Center The Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) of the United States National Weather Service is the official body responsible for tracking and issuing tropical cyclone warnings, watches, advisories, discussions, and statements for the Central Pacifi ...

named a tropical depression in the Central Pacific basin as Tropical Depression 63, following the

West Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

's numbering. The advisories were discontinued from the South Point of Big Island, where it was no longer considered a threat to shipping lanes or any land masses.

Storm names

The following names were used for named storms that formed in the eastern Pacific in 1962. No names were retired from this list. This is a part of list 1 and list 2, which was used from 1960-1965. Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1962 Pacific Hurricane Season Pacific hurricane seasons Articles which contain graphical timelines