1983 Pacific hurricane season facts for kids
Season summary map | |
First storm formed | May 21, 1983 |
---|---|
Last storm dissipated | December 7, 1983 |
Strongest storm | Kiko and Raymond - 125 knots (232 km/h) – |
21 | |
Total fatalities | Unknown |
Total damage | Unknown |
seasons 1981, 1982, 1983 1984, 1985 |
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 Mazatlan; Tropical Storm Octave killed several people in one of Arizona's worst disasters; and Hurricane Winnie was a rare December cyclone.