1983 Pacific hurricane season
Season summary map |
| First storm formed: |
May 21, 1983 |
| Last storm dissipated: |
December 7, 1983 |
| Strongest storm: |
Kiko and Raymond - 145 mph (230 km/h) (1-minute sustained) |
| Total depressions: |
26 |
| Total storms: |
21 |
| Hurricanes: |
12 |
| Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+): |
8 |
| Total fatalities: |
23 to 128 |
| Total damage: |
$66 million (1983 USD)
$142.7 million (2008 USD) |
Pacific hurricane seasons
1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 |
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The 1983 Pacific hurricane season officially started May 15, 1983 in the eastern Pacific, and June 1, 1983 in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30, 1983. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northeastern Pacific Ocean.
This season, there were a record-setting 21 named storms this year. Of those storms, twelve became hurricanes. Eight hurricanes reached Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. No named storms formed in the central Pacific; however, there were two tropical depressions. A strong El Niño contributed to this level of activity. That same El Niño influenced a relatively quiet season in the Atlantic.
The most notable storms were Hurricane Tico, Tropical Storm Octave, and Hurricane Winnie. Hurricane Tico left thousands homeless in Mazatlán; Tropical Storm Octave killed several people in one of Arizona's worst disasters; and Hurricane Winnie was a rare December cyclone.
Storms
Hurricane Adolph
Adolph brushed the coast and dissipated close to Mazatlán. No damage or deaths were reported. At the time, Adolph was the strongest May storm and the earliest hurricane. Both records have since been broken.
Hurricane Barbara
Barbara was a powerful category 4 storm, but it did not impact land.
Tropical Storm Cosme
Cosme was a short-lived and weak storm that did not have any impacts on land.
Tropical Storm Dalilia
Dalila was a strong tropical storm, but it never affected land.
Tropical Storm Erick
Erick was a short-lived storm which didn't impact land.
Tropical Storm Flossie
Flossie was a weak storm and didn't affect land.
Hurricane Gil
Gil threatened the Hawaiian Islands as a tropical storm. It caused heavy rains and pounding surf but little damage and only "minor difficulties". It may have killed one person. A catamaran, ironically named Hurricane, went missing after leaving Long Beach. Gil may have sunk it. As the vessel had no radio equipment, it is impossible to be sure as no one knew where the vessel was.
Hurricane Henriette
Henriette was a powerful category 4 hurricane. It moved a long distance, but didn't affect land.
Tropical Depression Nine-E
This depression formed on August 3 and dissipated August 7 over cool water.
Hurricane Ismael
Isamel was a category 2 storm that didn't affect land. However, it's remnants brought rain to California.
Tropical Depression Eleven-E
This depression dissipated off the southern Baja California coast.
Tropical Depression One-C
This short-lived depression moved west before dissipating.
Tropical Storm Juliette
Juliette was a storm that had no effects on land.
Tropical Depression Two-C
This depression drifted across the International Dateline on September 1.
Hurricane Kiko
Kiko was the strongest storm of the season. It had no effects on land.
Hurricane Lorena
Lorena was a major hurricane that didn't affect land.
Hurricane Manuel
The remnants of hurricane Manuel brought rain to California on September 20 and 21.
Tropical Storm Narda
Narda threatened Hawaii but veered south when far from the islands. There are no known casualties.
Tropical Storm Octave
While a tropical cyclone, Octave never threatened land. However, its remnants moved into Arizona where they were a partial cause of intense flooding over a ten-day period from September 28 to October 7. Damage was extreme. Fourteen people were killed and 975 people were injured. Octave left 10,000 Arizonans homeless. The estimated damage was $370 million (units unknown). Of note: The 28-mile (45 km) long Santa Fe Railway 'Prescott Branch' that served the City of Prescott, AZ was washed out in multiple locations between Chino Valley and downtown Prescott due to Octave floodwaters. Railroad service was never reinstituted and the line was formally abandoned in 1984, leaving Prescott as Arizona's largest city ever to lose its rail service.
Hurricane Priscilla
Priscilla's remnants moved northward across California, bringing light rain October 7.
Hurricane Raymond
Raymond threatened the Hawaiian Islands enough for a hurricane watch to be issued. Instead, it turned north. It then veered south and passed near Molokai as a depression. Raymond brought beneficial rains. There was one casualty, Richard Sharp, who was lost overboard off the craft "Hazana" that he and his fiance Tami Oldham were delivering to San Diego when they were hit by Raymond. Tami survived 41 days at sea as she navigated her way to Hawaii on the damaged vessel. Her story and that of Richard Sharp is chronicled in the book "Red Sky in Mourning". Only minor damage was reported as a result of the hurricane. However, a fishing vessel did also issue a Mayday for help because of the storm.
Tropical Storm Sonia
Sonia was a weak storm that didn't affect any land.
Hurricane Tico
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Tico was a powerful major hurricane. It came ashore close to Mazatlán. Winds gusted to 125 mph, and rain was heavy. Tico's remnants kept moving northeast. They passed into Texas and Oklahoma, where they caused torrential rains.
Flooding left 25000 people homeless. At least nine people were killed, with 105 missing. Several boats were destroyed. The total cost of damage was 66 million (1983 USD) dollars of damage.
Tropical Depression Twenty-Two-E
Lasting only 19 hours, this was the shortest-lived storm of the season.
Tropical Storm Velma
Velma was a weak and short-lived storm that didn't impact land.
Hurricane Winnie
Hurricane Winnie was an out of season storm that formed December 4, the latest hurricane in this basin. Winnie was a hurricane only briefly as it remained stationary. Winnie dissipated before making landfall.
It is not known why this storm was named Winnie. While that name is given to this storm in the "best track" file, the official name list for this year has "Wallis" instead of "Winnie".
1983 storm names
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the eastern Pacific in 1983. All the names on the list were used this year. No names were retired, so it was used again in the 1989 season. This is the first time these names had been used since the modern naming system began. No central Pacific names were used; the first name used would have been Keli.
- Adolph
- Barbara
- Cosme
- Dalilia
- Erick
- Flossie
- Gil
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- Henriette
- Ismael
- Juliette
- Kiko
- Lorena
- Manuel
- Narda
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- Octave
- Priscilla
- Raymond
- Sonia
- Tico
- Velma
- Winnie
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See also
References
External links
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Tropical cyclones of the 1983 Pacific hurricane season
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