The 1963 Pacific hurricane season was a below-average season, with 8 storms and 4 hurricanes forming. The season ran through the summer and fall of 1963.

1963 Pacific hurricane season
Season summary map
Seasonal boundaries
First system formedJuly 14, 1963
Last system dissipatedOctober 14, 1963
Strongest storm
NameMona
 • Maximum winds85 mph (140 km/h)
(1-minute sustained)
 • Lowest pressure961 mbar (hPa; 28.38 inHg)
Seasonal statistics
Total depressions8
Total storms8
Hurricanes4
Total fatalitiesUnknown
Total damageUnknown
Related articles
Pacific hurricane seasons
1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965

The strongest of these storms were Glenda and Mona, which both had 85 mph (135 km/h) winds. The first storm, Emily, made landfall near Manzanillo, Mexico as a Category 1 hurricane. The next hurricanes, Florence and Glenda, stayed far away from land. Jennifer-Katherine made landfall on Baja California as a tropical depression on September 18. Tropical Storm Irah affected Hawaii as a tropical depression. An unnamed tropical storm curved round Hawaii from 2–8 August. Lillian became post-tropical shortly before making landfall on September 29 with winds of 50 mph. Mona, the final storm of the season made landfall around about the same area as Lillian did with winds of 85 mph.

Systems

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Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

Hurricane Emily

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Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS)
DurationJune 29 – June 30
Peak intensity85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min);
996[1] mbar (hPa)

Hurricane Emily formed on June 29, while moving west. It then turned to the north and dissipated over the mountainous regions of Mexico.

Hurricane Florence

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Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS)
DurationJuly 14 – July 17
Peak intensity85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min);
992[1] mbar (hPa)

Hurricane Florence followed a nearly-due west track, as it persisted to move away from land, and eventually weakened and dissipated without any effects on a landmass.

Hurricane Glenda

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Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS)
DurationJuly 19 – July 21
Peak intensity85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min);
997[1] mbar (hPa)

Hurricane Glenda stayed at sea.

Tropical Storm Four

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Tropical storm (SSHWS)
DurationAugust 2 – August 8
Peak intensity50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min);

Tropical Storm Four stayed over the ocean. Several vessels encountered gale-force winds in this storm from the 8th through the 10th as it proceeded northward across the shipping lanes. On August 12, the remnants of the cyclone dissipated near 50N 165W.

Tropical Storm Jennifer–Katherine

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Tropical storm (SSHWS)
DurationSeptember 9 – September 18
Peak intensity50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min);
996[1] mbar (hPa)

Tropical Storm Jennifer–Katherine moved through the Eastern Pacific in mid-September. It moved northward, and hit Baja California on September 18, bringing heavy rain to Southern California. A total of 6.5 inches (165 mm) fell in the mountains of southern California from the storm.[2] The storm had two names operationally because the NHC had assumed that Jennifer dissipated and that Katherine was a new storm, but reanalysis revealed that it was one storm.

Tropical Storm Irah

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Tropical storm (SSHWS)
DurationSeptember 12 – September 21
Peak intensity50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min);
999[1] mbar (hPa)

Irah peaked at a tropical storm and made a direct hit on Hawaii as a tropical depression.

Tropical Storm Lillian

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Tropical storm (SSHWS)
DurationSeptember 24 – September 29
Peak intensity50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min);
991[1] mbar (hPa)

Tropical Storm Lillian paralleled the Mexican coast. It was originally moving to the north-west, but turned to the west-northeast on September 28, before making landfall on Western Mexico as a tropical storm.

Hurricane Mona

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Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS)
DurationOctober 17 – October 19
Peak intensity85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min);
961[1] mbar (hPa)

Hurricane Mona hit western Mexico on October 18.

Storm names

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The following names were used for tropical storms that formed in the North Pacific Ocean east of 140°W during 1963. The names came from a series of four rotating lists. Names were used one after the other without regard to year, and when the bottom of one list was reached, the next named storm received the name at the top of the next list.[3]

  • Emily
  • Florence
  • Glenda
  • Hazel
  • Irah
  • Jennifer
  • Katherine
  • Lillian
  • Mona

Had any tropical storms formed in the North Pacific between 140°W and the International Date Line in 1963, their names would have been drawn from the Western Pacific typhoon naming list.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1963). "The Climatological Data National Summary 1963". National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  2. ^ National Weather Service Forecast Office San Diego, California. Warnings for Tropical Storm Jennifer were issued from September 12 through 15 when a lack of observations led to an ending of observations. The final position was extrapolated at 18.8N 121.7W. Tropical Storm Katherine was identified on September 17 near 28.5N 117.0W and advisories were initiated. A History of Significant Local Weather Events. Archived February 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
  3. ^ a b Padgett, Gary (July 11, 2008). "Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary: November 2007 First Installment". Australian Severe Weather. Retrieved February 10, 2010.