1974 Pacific hurricane season

Infobox hurricane season
Basin=EPac
Year=1974
Track=1974 Pacific hurricane season map.png First storm formed=May 28, 1974
Last storm dissipated=October 24, 1974
Strongest storm name=Maggie
Strongest storm pressure=934
Strongest storm winds=120
Average wind speed=1
Total depressions=25
Total storms=18
Total hurricanes=7
Total intense=3
Fatalities=18-33
Da

Inflated=
five seasons=1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976

The 1974 Pacific hurricane season officially started May 15, 1974 in the eastern Pacific, and June 1, 1974 in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30, 1974. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northeast Pacific Ocean.

With seventeen storms, this season was slightly above average. At eleven, the number of hurricanes was also above average. However, the number of major hurricanes was below average. In the central Pacific, one tropical storm formed. Very unusually, on August 26 there were five systems active: Ione, Olive, Kirsten, Lorraine, and Maggie.

__TOC__

torms

Tropical Storm Aletta

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac

---

Formed=May 28
Dissipated=May 29
1-min winds=50
Prepressure=≤
Pressure=992On May 28, Tropical Storm Aletta formed. It recurved to the northeast and made landfall in western Mexico on May 30. Effects were minimal.

Tropical Storm Blanca

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac

---

Formed=June 5
Dissipated=June 8
1-min winds=50
Prepressure=≤
Pressure=1001

Hurricane Connie

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac

---

Formed=June 7
Dissipated=June 22
1-min winds=110
Prepressure=≤
Pressure=942Hurricane Connie was the first major hurricane. It took a bizarre, twisting path but never made landfall.

Hurricane Dolores

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac

---

Formed=June 14
Dissipated=June 16
1-min winds=70Hurricane Dolores formed on June 14. It reached Category 1 intensity and made landfall on June 17.

Dolores brought heavy rains to the Acapulco area. These caused mudslides, which washed away nine people with fifteen missing. A further six people were killed when the yacht "Peregrine" was sunk.

Tropical Storm Eileen

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac

---

Formed=July 2
Dissipated=July 4
1-min winds=35

Hurricane Francesca

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac

---

Formed=July 14
Dissipated=July 19
1-min winds=95
Pressure=986

Hurricane Gretchen

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac

---

Formed=July 17
Dissipated=July 21
1-min winds=85

Tropical Depression Eleven

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac
Formed=July 31
Dissipated=August 11
1-min winds=30
Pressure=1001This passed into the CPHC area of responsibility on August 9.

Tropical Storm Helga

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac

---

Formed=August 10
Dissipated=August 13
1-min winds=40

Hurricane Ione

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac


Track=Ione 1974 track.pngFormed=August 20
Dissipated=August 30
1-min winds=100On August 20, a tropical depression formed. It intensified into Tropical Storm Ione later that day. After dropping back down to a depression, it intensified again. It briefly reached Category 3 strength on August 24. Hurricane Ione is notable chiefly for its Fujiwhara interaction with Hurricane Kirsten.

Tropical Storm Olive

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac

---

Formed=August 22
Dissipated=August 26
1-min winds=40

Hurricane Joyce

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac

---

Formed=August 22
Dissipated=August 27
1-min winds=75

Hurricane Kirsten

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac


Track=Kirsten 1974 track.pngFormed=August 22
Dissipated=August 29
1-min winds=75Hurricane Kirsten took an erratic path. After traveling northwest for a while, it reversed direction and backtracked to almost where it started. It then reversed direction again and underwent a Fujiwhara interaction with Hurricane Ione.

Tropical Storm Lorraine

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac

---

Formed=August 23
Dissipated=August 28
1-min winds=45Tropical Storm Lorraine took an erratic, Z-shaped path during its life. It formed on August 23 and dissipated August 28.

Hurricane Maggie

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac

---

Formed=August 26
Dissipated=September 1
1-min winds=120
Prepressure=≤
Pressure=934Hurricane Maggie was the strongest storm of the season. It reached Category 4 but never threatened land.

Hurricane Norma

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac

---

Formed=September 9
Dissipated=September 10
1-min winds=65Hurricane Norma formed on September 9. It reached hurricane strength and made landfall the next day.

Mudslides caused by Norma's rains killed 3 people.

Hurricane Orlene

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac

---

Formed=September 21
Dissipated=September 24
1-min winds=90In Central America, Hurricane Fifi killed around 8000 people. The storm weakened to a depression and crossed into the east Pacific. The system restrengthened and was renamed Tropical Storm Orlene. Orlene hugged the coast before recurving to the northeast and made landfall shortly after reaching Category 1 intensity.

Hurricane Patricia

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac

---

Formed=October 6
Dissipated=October 17
1-min winds=80
Pressure=964

Tropical Storm Rosalie

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac

---

Formed=October 21
Dissipated=October 24
1-min winds=55

1974 storm names

The following names were used for named storms that formed in the eastern Pacific in 1974. It is the same list as the 1970 season, except for Aletta, which replaced Adele. A storm was named Aletta for the first time this year. This is the last time this list was used to name storms, as modern naming began in 1978.

Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.

In this season, the Central Pacific named storms from the western Pacific’s typhoon list. One name, Olive, was used.

This is the second time that the name "Kirsten" was used. In 1970, it was spelled "Kristen" but was changed back to "Kirsten" for this season.

ee also

*List of Pacific hurricanes
*List of Pacific hurricane seasons
*1974 Atlantic hurricane season
*1974 Pacific typhoon season
*1974 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
*Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone seasons: 1973–74, 1974–75

External links

* [http://ams.allenpress.com/archive/1520-0493/103/4/pdf/i1520-0493-103-4-301.pdf Eastern North Pacific Tropical Cyclones, 1974. Part 1]
* [http://ams.allenpress.com/archive/1520-0493/103/6/pdf/i1520-0493-103-6-550.pdf Eastern North Pacific Tropical Cyclones, 1974. Part 2]
* [http://www.prh.noaa.gov/cphc/summaries/1974.php CPHC Season Summary]
* [http://metocph.nmci.navy.mil/jtwc/atcr/1974atcr/pdf/annexa.pdf ATCR Eastern Pacific summary]
* [http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/e_pacific/1974/index.html Unisys Weather archive for the Eastern Pacific, 1974]