2002 Pacific hurricane seasonThe 2002 Pacific hurricane season was an average season which produced fifteen named storms. Eight hurricanes formed, including a record-tying three Category 5 hurricanes, a record it shares with the 1994 and 2018 seasons. It was also a near-average season in terms of accumulated cyclone energy (ACE), having an ACE of 125. The season officially began on May 15, 2002 in the East Pacific Ocean, and on June 1, 2002 in the Central Pacific; both ended on November 30.
2018 Pacific hurricane seasonThe 2018 Pacific hurricane season was one of the most active Pacific hurricane seasons on record, producing the highest accumulated cyclone energy value on record in the basin. The season had the fourth-highest number of named storms – 23, tied with 1982. The season also featured eight landfalls, six of which occurred in Mexico. The season officially began on May 15 in the Eastern Pacific, and on June 1 in the Central Pacific; they both ended on November 30.
1982 Pacific hurricane seasonThe 1982 Pacific hurricane season was, at the time, the most active and costliest Pacific hurricane season on record, with 23 named storms. Of those, 12 became hurricanes, with 5 intensifying into major hurricanes (Category 3 or above on the Saffir–Simpson scale). The season officially started on May 15 in the eastern Pacific basin and June 1 in the central Pacific basin. The season in both basins ended on November 30.
Hurricane John (1994)Hurricane John, also known as Typhoon John, was the farthest-traveling tropical cyclone ever observed worldwide. It was also the longest-lasting tropical cyclone on record globally at the time, until it was surpassed by Cyclone Freddy in 2023. John formed during the 1994 Pacific hurricane season, which had above-average activity due to the El Niño of 1994–1995, and peaked as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale, the highest categorization for hurricanes.
Hurricane Rosa (1994)Hurricane Rosa was the only Pacific hurricane to make landfall during the above-average 1994 Pacific hurricane season. It killed at least 4 people in Mexico. Moisture from the hurricane was a factor in widespread flooding in the U.S. state of Texas that killed 22 people and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in October 1994. The pre-Rosa tropical depression formed on October 8 before degenerating the next day.
Tropical cycloneRapidly rotating storm systemHurricane Florence viewed from the International Space Station in 2018. The eye, eyewall, and surrounding rainbands are characteristics of tropical cyclones.A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls.
Eye (cyclone)The eye is a region of mostly calm weather at the center of a tropical cyclone. The eye of a storm is a roughly circular area, typically 30–65 kilometers (19–40 miles; 16–35 nautical miles) in diameter. It is surrounded by the eyewall, a ring of towering thunderstorms where the most severe weather and highest winds of the cyclone occur. The cyclone's lowest barometric pressure occurs in the eye and can be as much as 15 percent lower than the pressure outside the storm.
Baja California peninsulaThe Baja California peninsula (Spanish: Península de Baja California, lit. 'Lower California peninsula') is a peninsula in northwestern Mexico. It separates the Gulf of California from the Pacific Ocean. The peninsula extends from Mexicali, Baja California, in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, in the south.
Wind shearWind shear (; also written windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in windspeed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizontal wind shear. Vertical wind shear is a change in wind speed or direction with a change in altitude. Horizontal wind shear is a change in wind speed with a change in lateral position for a given altitude.1990–1995 El Niño eventsBetween 1990 and 1995, the Pacific Ocean experienced various atmospheric and oceanic features, which were consistent with an El Niño event. Beginning in early 1991, a moderate-to-strong Central Pacific based El Niño developed. From there, the event lasted from most of 1991 until about late spring or summer 1992. The ENSO Modoki event, along with the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, caused global cooling in both 1991 and 1992.
TexasTexas ( TEK-səss) is a state in the United States. Located in the south-central part of the country, it borders Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. It also borders Mexico along the Rio Grande, and has a coastline on the Gulf of Mexico. Covering 268,596 square miles (695,660 km2) and with an estimated population of over 31.7 million residents in 2025, it is the second-largest state by both area and population.
Bar (unit)The bar (symbol bar) is a metric unit of pressure defined as 100000Pa (100 kPa or 1000 hPa), though not part of the International System of Units (SI). A pressure of 1 bar is slightly less than the average atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level (approximately 1.013 bar).
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