hurricanesmapped

EASTERN PACIFIC · SEASON MAP

1971 Pacific hurricane season

Every recorded track, mapped · 18 storms · 21 May 1971–29 Nov 1971

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY118.3
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1971 Pacific hurricane season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 18 storms, colored by the wind category at each observation. Hover or focus a storm in the table to highlight its track.UNITED STATESMEXICOCUBACHINAJAPANPHILIPPINESINDIAGulf of MexicoAtlantic OceanPacific OceanPhilippine SeaArabian SeaBay of BengalAgatha: 21 May–25 May, peak 85 kt, Category 2Bridget: 14 Jun–17 Jun, peak 85 kt, Category 2Carlotta: 2 Jul–6 Jul, peak 75 kt, Category 1Denise: 2 Jul–14 Jul, peak 120 kt, Category 4Eleanor: 7 Jul–11 Jul, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormFrancene:Francesca: 18 Jul–23 Jul, peak 100 kt, Category 3Georgette: 20 Jul–27 Jul, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormHilary: 26 Jul–6 Aug, peak 85 kt, Category 2Ilsa: 31 Jul–8 Aug, peak 100 kt, Category 3Jewel: 6 Aug–10 Aug, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormKatrina: 8 Aug–13 Aug, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 24 Aug–24 Aug, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionLily: 28 Aug–1 Sep, peak 75 kt, Category 1Monica: 29 Aug–5 Sep, peak 100 kt, Category 3Nanette: 3 Sep–9 Sep, peak 85 kt, Category 2Priscilla: 6 Oct–13 Oct, peak 110 kt, Category 3Ramona: 28 Oct–31 Oct, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormSharon: 25 Nov–29 Nov, peak 35 kt, Tropical storm

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 1971 Pacific hurricane season. Column headers sort the list.
Agatha–85Cat 2972810
Bridget–85Cat 2—1,410
Carlotta–75Cat 19801,740
Denise–120Cat 49513,450
Eleanor–50Tropical storm10091,430
Francene:Francesca–100Cat 39911,460
Georgette–50Tropical storm9911,660
Hilary–85Cat 29642,140
Ilsa–100Cat 39781,900
Jewel–60Tropical storm—990
Katrina–55Tropical storm—1,110
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—160
Lily–75Cat 1—880
Monica–100Cat 3—980
Nanette–85Cat 29901,500
Priscilla–110Cat 39511,400
Ramona–50Tropical storm—760
Sharon–35Tropical storm1009680

18 storms with an IBTrACS 1971 hurricane season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 21 May 1971, last 29 Nov 1971.

Tropical storms17

Tropical-stage US-agency wind of 34 kt or more

Hurricanes11

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)5

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 50

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormDenise

120 kt · 138 mph / 222 km/h

Lowest pressure951 hPa

Denise, 8 Jul 1971

Longest track record12 days

Hilary, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind0

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 1971 season in brief

How many hurricanes were there in the 1971 Pacific hurricane season?

The archive records 11 hurricanes (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 17 tropical storms, with 5 major hurricanes reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

What was the strongest storm of the 1971 Pacific hurricane season?

Denise, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 120 kt (Category 4) on 9 Jul 1971, 06:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 951 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 1971?

None. No storm in the 1971 Pacific hurricane season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale in the archive.

When did the 1971 Pacific hurricane season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 21 May 1971 and the last on 29 Nov 1971, from 18 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first hurricane of the 1971 Pacific hurricane season?

Agatha, which reached hurricane strength (64 kt) on 22 May 1971, 18:00 UTC.

METHODOLOGY

Data sources and limitations

The map and totals are generated from NOAA’s IBTrACS v04r01 archive. A storm belongs to this page when the archive lists it in the Eastern Pacific basin for the 1971 season, so a December storm whose track ends in January stays with its season. Storms that cross between basins appear on the page of their archive basin only.

Counts use US-agency one-minute winds during the tropical stage: 34 kt for a tropical storm, 64 kt for hurricane strength and 96 kt for major intensity, on the Saffir–Simpson scale in every basin. Local agencies classify storms differently, and official season summaries can differ from the archive. Accumulated cyclone energy sums squared winds at six-hourly synoptic times, counting observations in the calendar year. Storms with no US-agency wind are mapped but cannot enter the counts.

The map frame is the same for every Eastern Pacific season, so a track that leaves it is cut at the edge. Lines show each storm’s center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Coastlines use Natural Earth’s 1:10m land data.

Archive retrieved

NOAA IBTrACS archive · Field documentation

Sources & methodology