1994 Eastern Pacific hurricane season
Hurricane Emilia 1994
Hurricane Emilia reached Category 5 strength in the central Pacific in July 1994. It weakened before passing south of Hawaii, where surf and gusty winds disrupted coastal areas and mountaintop observatories.
Drag to pan. Pinch or Ctrl/⌘ + scroll to zoom. Keyboard: plus or minus to zoom, arrow keys to pan, and 0 to show the full track.
161 mph
Jul 19, 1994 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Strengthening toward Hawaii
Emilia's precursor crossed the Atlantic from Africa without much development. Forecasters identified a tropical depression in the eastern Pacific on July 16; the system became a hurricane as it headed west-northwest into the central Pacific. At its peak, an Air Force reconnaissance aircraft measured a central pressure of 926 hPa. The archive lists maximum one-minute winds of 140 kt on July 19.
Surf and wind on the islands
Cooler water and increasing wind shear weakened Emilia as it turned northwest. On July 22, it passed about 170 miles from the Big Island, its closest approach to Hawaii. The storm lost hurricane strength and continued west-northwest as its thunderstorms diminished.
Observers reported swells of 6 to 10 feet along the Puna and Kaʻū coasts and surf around 5 feet at Waikiki. Gusts broke branches, toppled a few trees and caused minor roof damage. Staff at the Mauna Kea observatories closed telescope domes because of the high winds. Rainfall remained light to moderate.
Further reading
NOAA IBTrACS v04r01 historical track archive
QUICK ANSWERS
Emilia in brief
What was Hurricane Emilia's highest wind speed?
161 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Jul 19, 1994, 06:00 PM UTC.
What category was Hurricane Emilia?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Jul 19, 1994, 03:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Hurricane Emilia's lowest pressure?
926 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Jul 19, 1994, 12:00 PM UTC.
When did Hurricane Emilia occur?
The archived track runs from Jul 16, 1994, 12:00 AM UTC to Jul 25, 1994, 12:00 AM UTC, with the tropical stage from Jul 16, 1994, 12:00 AM UTC to Jul 25, 1994, 12:00 AM UTC.
Where did Hurricane Emilia form?
In the Eastern Pacific basin, in the 1994 season. Its first archived position is 8.5°N, 131.3°W on Jul 16, 1994, 12:00 AM UTC.
Did Hurricane Emilia make landfall?
No archived position places Hurricane Emilia's center over land, but positions are six-hourly and a brief landfall can fall between them.
METHODOLOGY
Data sources and limitations
The map and summary are generated from NOAA's IBTrACS v04r01 archive. Wind and category use US-agency records; minimum pressure is calculated during the tropical stage, with the archive's pressure source retained. Category 5 refers to the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale; local agencies may use different classifications. Coastlines use Natural Earth's 1:10m land data.
Track distance adds great-circle distances between consecutive observations, excluding gaps over 12 hours. This track has no gaps over 12 hours. The line shows the storm's center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Converted wind speeds are rounded to the nearest whole unit.
Archive retrieved
NOAA IBTrACS archive and Field documentation
Sources & methodology