EASTERN PACIFIC SEASON MAP
1976 Pacific hurricane season
19 recorded storms from Jun 2, 1976 to Oct 29, 1976
Last updated
The 1976 Pacific hurricane season produced 15 tropical storms, 9 hurricanes and 5 major hurricanes. Hurricane Madeline became the strongest of the year at 125 kt shortly before it struck Mexico in October. Three storms in a row came ashore from September into October, and Hurricane Liza, the deadliest, killed more than 600 people in Mexico. Read more
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| Unnamed | – | 35 | Tropical depression | — | 210 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annette | – | 138 | Cat 4 | 925 | 1,800 |
| Bonny | – | 75 | Cat 1 | 987 | 1,080 |
| Unnamed | – | 35 | Tropical depression | — | 250 |
| Celeste | – | 52 | Tropical storm | — | 2,140 |
| Diana | – | 98 | Cat 2 | — | 3,070 |
| Estelle | – | 40 | Tropical storm | — | 700 |
| Fernanda | – | 40 | Tropical storm | — | 1,430 |
| Gwen | – | 63 | Tropical storm | — | 4,330 |
| Hyacinth | – | 115 | Cat 3 | — | 2,780 |
| Unnamed | – | 29 | Tropical depression | — | 100 |
| Unnamed | – | 35 | Tropical depression | — | 810 |
| Iva | – | 132 | Cat 4 | — | 2,360 |
| Joanne | – | 52 | Tropical storm | — | 2,650 |
| Kathleen | – | 81 | Cat 1 | 986 | 1,830 |
| Kate | – | 92 | Cat 1 | — | 1,430 |
| Liza | – | 138 | Cat 4 | 948 | 1,220 |
| Madeline | – | 144 | Cat 4 | 941 | 1,220 |
| Naomi | – | 52 | Tropical storm | 1005 | 1,100 |
19 storms with an IBTrACS 1976 hurricane season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation Jun 2, 1976, last Oct 29, 1976.
Tropical-stage US-agency wind of 39 mph or more
74 mph or more, one-minute sustained
110 mph or more, Saffir–Simpson scale
158 mph or more at any tropical-stage observation
144 mph
Annette, Jun 9, 1976
Gwen, full archive record
Mapped, but outside the counts above
SEASON HISTORY
Few storms, many major hurricanes
The current best track counts 14 eastern Pacific tropical storms, 8 hurricanes and 5 major hurricanes, plus Hurricane Kate, which formed in the central Pacific. The site's 15 tropical storms and 9 hurricanes include Kate. The storm count ran slightly below average, but the five major hurricanes pushed accumulated cyclone energy to 120.9. Four depressions never became storms, one of which came ashore near Salina Cruz in late June.
Hurricane Annette opened the year. It organized slowly after forming on 3 June, then strengthened steadily and quickly, reaching Category 4 on 9 June when a reconnaissance aircraft measured 925 mb, the lowest pressure of the season. The archive peaks Annette at 120 kt. It curved north over colder water and dissipated at sea on 14 June.
A summer of storms heading west
Most summer storms tracked west over cooling water. Hurricane Diana peaked at 85 kt on 18 July and faded in the central Pacific. Estelle and Fernanda formed from the two halves of one disturbance in late July and never exceeded minimal storm strength.
Tropical Storm Gwen and Hurricane Hyacinth interacted in August. Hyacinth developed a small eye and peaked at 100 kt on 10 August, and its growth to the east pushed Gwen north. Gwen then absorbed the weakening Hyacinth on 14 August and tracked north of the Hawaiian Islands, becoming the longest-tracked storm of the year at 318 recorded hours. Hurricane Iva reached 115 kt, Category 4, on 28 August and stayed at sea.
Hurricane Kate grew from a disturbance that drifted into the central Pacific and became a hurricane on 24 September. It prompted a hurricane watch for the Big Island on 28 September and passed 200 miles northwest of it. Heavy surf caused minor damage on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island.
Kathleen, Liza and Madeline come ashore
Hurricane Kathleen formed southwest of Acapulco on 7 September and briefly became a hurricane on 10 September, when reconnaissance measured peak winds of 80 mph. It sped north, crossed Point Eugenia as a tropical storm and came ashore about 160 miles south of Ensenada the same day. Its remnants crossed Arizona and Nevada, and flooding caused deaths and destruction in California and Arizona.
Hurricane Liza formed on 25 September, turned north over warm water and peaked at 120 kt on 29 September during an eyewall replacement cycle. It came ashore north of Los Mochis early on 1 October as a slightly weaker Category 3 hurricane and fell apart over the mountains. Liza killed more than 600 people in Mexico, the deadliest toll of the season.
Hurricane Madeline formed south of Guatemala on 29 September, weakened to a depression, then restrengthened on 4 October as it curved north. It peaked at 125 kt and 941 mb at 06 UTC on 8 October and moved ashore on the Mexican coast a few hours later. Madeline ranks among the most intense Pacific hurricanes at landfall.
Tropical Storm Naomi ended the season, weakening in wind shear and coming ashore near Mazatlán as a minimal tropical storm on 29 October.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
The 1976 season in brief
How many hurricanes were there in the 1976 Pacific hurricane season?
The archive records 9 hurricanes (one-minute winds of 74 mph or more) among 15 tropical storms, with 5 major hurricanes reaching 110 mph. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.
What was the strongest storm of the 1976 Pacific hurricane season?
Madeline, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 144 mph (Category 4) on Oct 8, 1976, 06:00 AM UTC and a minimum central pressure of 941 mb.
How many Category 5 storms were there in 1976?
None. No storm in the 1976 Pacific hurricane season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale in the archive.
When did the 1976 Pacific hurricane season start and end?
The first tropical-stage observation is on Jun 2, 1976 and the last on Oct 29, 1976, from 19 tracked storms in the archive.
What was the first hurricane of the 1976 Pacific hurricane season?
Annette, which reached hurricane strength (74 mph) on Jun 7, 1976, 06:00 AM 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 1976 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 and Field documentation
Sources & methodology