2009 Pacific hurricane season

A near-normal season with an uneven rhythm

The archive tracks 23 systems between June 18 and October 27. Twenty reached tropical-storm strength, and of the eight hurricanes, five became major hurricanes: Felicia, Guillermo, Jimena, Rick and Neki. The site's accumulated cyclone energy of 127.2 sums one-minute winds during the tropical stage across the whole North Pacific east of the date line, including storms in the Central Pacific.

The National Hurricane Center counts the same season differently but arrives at the same totals. Its season review lists 17 named storms east of 140°W, and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center named three more west of that line: Lana, Maka and Neki. Measured only for the eastern region, the season's energy came to about 100 units, roughly 94 percent of the long-term median, which is why forecasters described 2009 as near normal overall. Colorado State University's basin-wide figure of 126.4 is close to the site's value; the small gap reflects differences in which advisories and track points each calculation includes.

Before the season, NOAA expected near- to below-normal activity after a La Niña faded in April, with 13 to 18 named storms forecast for the eastern region. An El Niño developed as the year went on, and later research tied the season's shifting pattern to that El Niño and to two pulses of the Madden–Julian oscillation. The Central Pacific, forecast to see three to five systems, ended up with seven that formed there or crossed in from the east.

A slow start, a crowded August and a strong finish

For the first time since 1999, nothing formed in May. The first depression appeared on June 18 south-southwest of Mazatlan and was torn apart by wind shear the next day, and Hurricane Andres followed on June 21 as it moved along the southwestern Mexican coast. Andres became the season's first hurricane on June 23 and the first June hurricane in the basin since 2000, peaking at 70 kt before shear destroyed it within about a day.

July added four named storms but little energy. Hurricane Carlos was the standout: a small, erratic storm that became a hurricane, weakened, then strengthened again to 90 kt on July 15 near 10°N. NHC judged it the strongest hurricane that far south in the eastern North Pacific since reliable records began in 1971. By the end of July, season-to-date energy stood at roughly 37 percent of the long-term mean.

August changed the picture. Seven named storms formed in NHC's region that month, the most for August since 1968, and three became major hurricanes. Several systems ran side by side: Tropical Storm Enrique and Hurricane Felicia formed within a day of each other in early August, while Tropical Storm Maka formed south of Hawaii and later crossed the date line. Hurricane Guillermo, Tropical Storm Hilda and Tropical Storm Ignacio followed, and the month closed with Hurricane Jimena developing south of Acapulco as Tropical Storm Kevin and a short-lived Central Pacific depression churned farther west.

September was quieter, with Hurricane Linda and two short-lived tropical storms, Marty and Nora, all far from land. October brought Tropical Storms Olaf and Patricia near Baja California, then the two strongest late-season storms: Hurricane Rick south of Mexico and Hurricane Neki in the Central Pacific. Neki was the last system to dissipate, on October 27.

The strongest storms

Hurricane Rick formed on October 15 about 300 nautical miles south-southwest of the Gulf of Tehuantepec and intensified almost without pause over water near 30°C. It became a hurricane within a day and reached its peak of 155 kt (about 180 mph) and 906 hPa around 06:00 UTC on October 18. It was the first Category 5 in the basin since Hurricane Ioke in 2006 and the first east of 140°W since Hurricane Kenna in 2002. NHC's report, written in 2009, ranked Rick second only to Hurricane Linda of 1997 among eastern Pacific hurricanes since the early 1970s; Hurricane Patricia in 2015 later pushed it to third.

Hurricane Jimena was the second most intense storm. It formed on August 28 about 190 nautical miles south of Acapulco and intensified rapidly around a small core, reaching 120 kt before an eyewall replacement cycle paused it. It then strengthened again to a peak of 135 kt on August 31 before shear, cooler water and a second eyewall cycle began to weaken it.

Hurricane Felicia intensified rapidly from the moment it formed, peaking at 125 kt on August 6 about 1,465 nautical miles east-southeast of Hilo. Hurricane Guillermo reached 110 kt on August 15 and, with more than 13 days on record from its origins to the end of its remnant low, is the season's longest-tracked storm. Hurricane Neki grew out of an unusually large gyre south of Hawaii and intensified quickly after becoming a hurricane, reaching 110 kt on October 22.

Landfalls and impacts

Hurricane Jimena did the most damage. It made landfall over Isla Santa Margarita on Baja California Sur around 12:00 UTC on September 2 with 90 kt winds, tying Hurricane Norbert of 2008 as the strongest landfall on record on Baja California's Pacific coast. It struck again at Puerto San Carlos an hour later, crossed near San Juanico as a Category 1 hurricane, stalled over the Gulf of California and made a final landfall near Santa Rosalia as a depression on September 4.

Jimena's winds and slow-moving rains caused widespread damage in Ciudad Constitución, Mulege, Loreto and smaller towns across the peninsula, and severe freshwater flooding near Guaymas on the Mexican mainland, where a record 26.54 inches of rain fell. NHC's report attributed one death to Jimena, a flood drowning in Mulege, while Red Cross reporting cited in the season article put the toll at six or more. Mexico's disaster-prevention agency estimated losses at 2.3 billion pesos, about US$173.9 million in 2009 dollars.

Hurricane Rick weakened about as fast as it had strengthened once strong upper-level winds reached it. It fell below major hurricane strength on October 19, became a tropical storm the next day and made landfall near Mazatlan around 14:00 UTC on October 21 with winds of about 50 kt, far below its peak. Large waves from Rick drowned two people in Los Cabos, and three storm deaths were reported in Mexico in all, one in Oaxaca and two in Baja California Sur. Losses were estimated at 192 million pesos, about US$14.6 million in 2009 dollars.

Hurricane Andres caused one death in Mexico, according to NHC: a man who drowned while fishing in rough seas near Tecpan de Galeana. Flooding from Andres and its precursor led to the evacuation of about 200 people in Acapulco, though damage along the coast was minimal. Remnants of the season's first depression brought wind and rain to Sinaloa, Nayarit and Jalisco in June, leaving about 50,000 homes without power.

Hawaii felt the season mostly through swells and rain. Hurricane Felicia weakened steadily in wind shear and dissipated just northeast of the Big Island on August 11, but its remnants brought heavy rain across the islands, including 14.63 inches on Oahu, and closed part of Kamehameha Highway when Waikane Stream overflowed. NHC recorded no casualties or damage from the storm itself. Hurricane Guillermo passed well north of the islands and sent 6 to 8 foot surf to eastern shores. Hurricane Neki weakened to a tropical storm in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, where personnel were evacuated from Tern Island and Laysan Island; CPHC reported no casualties, though the small Disappearing Island was washed away.

Central Pacific names

Tropical Storm Lana was the first Central Pacific name used in 2009, after forming as a depression in the eastern Pacific and strengthening just after crossing 140°W. When Tropical Storm Maka was named on August 11, 2009 became the first season in seven years to use more than one Central Pacific name, and Hurricane Neki added a third. No names were retired, and the eastern Pacific list was used again in 2015.