Hurricane Ekeka
Meteorological history | |
---|---|
Formed | January 28, 1992 |
Dissipated | February 8, 1992 |
Category 3 major hurricane | |
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Highest winds | 115 mph (185 km/h) |
Lowest pressure | 985 mbar (hPa); 29.09 inHg |
Overall effects | |
Fatalities | None |
Damage | Minimal |
Areas affected | Marshall Islands, Chuuk, Palmyra Atoll |
IBTrACS | |
Part of the 1992 Pacific hurricane and typhoon seasons |
Hurricane Ekeka was the most intense off-season tropical cyclone on record in the northeastern Pacific basin. The first storm of the 1992 Pacific hurricane season, Ekeka developed on January 28 well to the south of Hawaii. It gradually intensified to reach major hurricane status on February 2, although it subsequently began to weaken due to unfavorable high wind shear. It crossed the International Date Line as a weakened tropical storm, and shortly thereafter degraded to tropical depression status. Ekeka continued westward, passing through the Marshall Islands and later over Chuuk State, before dissipating on February 9 about 310 miles (500 km) off the north coast of Papua New Guinea. The storm did not cause any significant damage or deaths.
Meteorological history
During the
With favorable conditions, the depression quickly intensified into a tropical storm; upon doing so, it was named Ekeka by the CPHC, which is
Tropical Storm Ekeka continued weakening, degrading to tropical depression status by February 4. The depression moved quickly through the Marshall Islands, and on February 6 turned to the west-southwest.[3] On February 8, the JMA declared Ekeka dissipated;[5] however, the JTWC continued monitoring the system, with Ekeka passing over Chuuk as a weak depression.[3] Early on February 9, the JTWC declared Ekeka dissipated about 800 miles (1,300 km) east-southeast of Palau, or about 310 miles (500 km) off the north coast of Papua New Guinea.[4]
Impact and records
No deaths were reported in association with Ekeka.[2] The storm passed through the Marshall Islands without causing significant impact. When Ekeka hit the island of Chuuk, winds of 20 mph (32 km/h) were reported.[3] While in the central Pacific Ocean, Ekeka became one of only three tropical cyclones on record to be located within the
Ekeka is most unusual for its formation in January.[2] Tropical cyclones rarely form east of the International Date Line outside of the tropical cyclone season,[4] which starts May 15 in the eastern Pacific and June 1 in the central Pacific, and ends on November 30 in both regions.[7] In the official Pacific hurricane database, Ekeka was the second tropical cyclone on record to occur in January or February within the Pacific Ocean east of the International Date Line, after Tropical Storm Winona[4][8] of 1989. It is third earliest cyclone on record within the basin, behind Hurricane Pali of 2016, and the aforementioned Winona.
See also
- Tropical cyclones in 1992
- List of Category 3 Pacific hurricanes
- List of off-season Pacific hurricanes
- List of Pacific hurricanes
- List of Equatorial tropical cyclones
References
- S2CID 52213015. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ a b c d e f g Central Pacific Hurricane Center (1992). "The 1992 Central Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season". Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ a b c d e f Mundell (1993). "Tropical Storm Ekeka (01C)" (PDF). Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ a b c d National Hurricane Center; Hurricane Research Division; Central Pacific Hurricane Center (April 4, 2023). "The Northeast and North Central Pacific hurricane database 1949–2022". United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. A guide on how to read the database is available here. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b c RSMC Tokyo-Typhoon Center Japan Meteorological Agency. "RSMC Best Track Data (Text) 1990-1999" (TXT). Government of Japan. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ Rusty Brainard; et al. (2005). "The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the U.S. Pacific Remote Island Areas" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-10. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ "Tropical Cyclone Climatology". FAQ. Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
- ^ Pao-Shin Chu; Peng Wu (2008). Climatic Atlas of Tropical Cyclone Tracks over the Central North Pacific (PDF) (Report). University of Hawaii-Manoa. Retrieved August 2, 2015.