hurricanesmapped

EASTERN PACIFIC · SEASON MAP

1988 Pacific hurricane season

Every recorded track, mapped · 20 storms · 15 Jun 1988–12 Oct 1988

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY85.4
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1988 Pacific hurricane season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 20 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 BengalUnnamed: 15 Jun–18 Jun, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionAletta: 16 Jun–21 Jun, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormBud: 20 Jun–22 Jun, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 2 Jul–4 Jul, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionCarlotta: 8 Jul–15 Jul, peak 65 kt, Category 1Daniel: 19 Jul–26 Jul, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormEmilia: 27 Jul–2 Aug, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormGilma: 28 Jul–3 Aug, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormFabio: 28 Jul–9 Aug, peak 120 kt, Category 4Unnamed: 28 Jul–29 Jul, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionHector: 30 Jul–9 Aug, peak 125 kt, Category 4Iva: 5 Aug–13 Aug, peak 90 kt, Category 2Unnamed: 14 Aug–16 Aug, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionJohn: 16 Aug–21 Aug, peak 35 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 27 Aug–29 Aug, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionKristy: 29 Aug–6 Sep, peak 80 kt, Category 1Unnamed: 12 Sep–15 Sep, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionWila: 21 Sep–25 Sep, peak 35 kt, Tropical stormLane: 21 Sep–30 Sep, peak 90 kt, Category 2Unnamed: 11 Oct–12 Oct, peak 30 kt, Tropical depression

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 1988 Pacific hurricane season. Column headers sort the list.
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—450
Aletta–60Tropical storm992530
Bud–45Tropical storm1000560
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—230
Carlotta–65Cat 19941,510
Daniel–55Tropical storm9941,520
Emilia–60Tropical storm9921,090
Gilma–45Tropical storm10001,340
Fabio–120Cat 49432,590
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—190
Hector–125Cat 49352,740
Iva–90Cat 29681,710
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—420
John–35Tropical storm1004570
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—280
Kristy–80Cat 19761,260
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—250
Wila–35Tropical storm—730
Lane–90Cat 29702,490
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—370

20 storms with an IBTrACS 1988 hurricane season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 15 Jun 1988, last 12 Oct 1988.

Tropical storms13

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

Hurricanes6

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)2

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 50

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormHector

125 kt · 144 mph / 232 km/h

Lowest pressure935 hPa

Hector, 3 Aug 1988

Longest track record12 days

Fabio, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind0

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 1988 season in brief

How many hurricanes were there in the 1988 Pacific hurricane season?

The archive records 6 hurricanes (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 13 tropical storms, with 2 major hurricanes reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

What was the strongest storm of the 1988 Pacific hurricane season?

Hector, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 125 kt (Category 4) on 3 Aug 1988, 06:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 935 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 1988?

None. No storm in the 1988 Pacific hurricane season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale in the archive.

When did the 1988 Pacific hurricane season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 15 Jun 1988 and the last on 12 Oct 1988, from 20 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first hurricane of the 1988 Pacific hurricane season?

Carlotta, which reached hurricane strength (64 kt) on 11 Jul 1988, 06:00 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 1988 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