Timeline of the 2004 Pacific hurricane season

Timeline of the
2004 Pacific hurricane season
Season summary map
Season boundaries
First system formedMay 22, 2004
Last system dissipatedOctober 26, 2004
Strongest system
NameJavier
Maximum winds150 mph (240 km/h)
(1-minute sustained)
Lowest pressure930 mbar (hPa; 27.46 inHg)
Longest lasting system
NameJavier
Duration9 days
Storm articles
Other years
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006

The 2004 Pacific hurricane season consisted of the events that occurred in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation over the Pacific Ocean north of the equator and east of the International Date Line. The official bounds of each Pacific hurricane season are dates that conventionally delineate the period each year during which tropical cyclones tend to form in the basin according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), beginning on May 15 in the Eastern Pacific proper (east of 140°W) and June 1 in the Central Pacific (140°W to the International Date Line), and ending on November 30 in both areas. However, tropical cyclogenesis is possible at any time of year.[1] The first tropical cyclone of the season, Tropical Storm Agatha, developed on May 22; the final, Tropical Depression Sixteen‑E, dissipated on October 26.

Activity during the 2004 season was below average.[nb 1] A total of seventeen tropical depressions formed, with twelve going on to become named tropical storms. Six storms became hurricanes, of which three further intensified into major hurricanes.[nb 2][2][3] Persisting throughout the season was an area of atmospheric and oceanic conditions hostile to tropical cyclones, including below-average sea surface temperatures and a stable air mass. A strong ridge over Mexico frequently steered systems toward this area, limiting their development.[3] The season's general lack of activity was reflected by an overall Accumulated Cyclone Energy index of 71.1 units, which is the seventh-lowest value on record for a Pacific hurricane season as of December 2024.[nb 3][5]

Impacts on land were unusually light during the season, largely on account of the aforementioned ridge steering the vast majority of tropical cyclones out to sea. No systems caused any confirmed fatalities,[3] although Hurricane Javier in September caused three fishermen to go missing off the coast of Oaxaca.[6] Javier and Sixteen‑E made landfall as tropical depressions in northwestern Mexico, where they caused minor flooding; Sixteen‑E also generated locally strong winds and a possible tornado.[7][8] The remnants of both systems produced heavy rainfall in portions of the western United States.[8][9] Hurricane Howard in early September washed out roads in western portions of the Baja California peninsula and prompted water rescues in California due to high surf.[10][11] In mid-October, Tropical Storm Lester caused rainfall of up to 5 in (130 mm) in southern Mexico when it passed close to the coast.[12]

Prior to 2015, two time zones were utilized in the Eastern Pacific basin: Pacific east of 140°W, and Hawaii−Aleutian from 140°W to the International Date Line.[13][14] For convenience, each event is listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) first, using the 24-hour clock (where 00:00 = midnight UTC),[15] with the respective local time included in parentheses. Figures for maximum sustained winds and position estimates are rounded to the nearest five units (knots, miles, or kilometers) and averaged over one minute, following National Hurricane Center practice. Direct wind observations are rounded to the nearest whole number. Atmospheric pressures are listed to the nearest millibar and nearest hundredth of an inch of mercury. This timeline documents the formation of tropical cyclones as well as the strengthening, weakening, landfalls, extratropical transitions, and dissipations during the season. It also includes information that was not released while the storm was active, meaning that data from post-storm reviews by the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center is included.

Timeline of events

Hurricane Javier (2004)Hurricane Howard (2004)Hurricane Darby (2004)Saffir–Simpson scale

May

A photograph of a tropical storm off the Pacific coast of Mexico. The cloud pattern is tightly wound and well-organized, and there is a dimple near the center of the storm, indicating that it was in the process of developing an eye-like feature. A band of clouds, oriented from west-southwest to east-northeast, can be seen to the south.
Satellite image of Tropical Storm Agatha just before reaching peak intensity late on May 22

May 15

  • The 2004 Eastern Pacific hurricane season officially begins.[1]

May 22

May 23

May 24

June

  • No tropical cyclones were active in June.

June 1

  • The 2004 Central Pacific hurricane season officially begins.[1]

July

A map of the path of a tropical depression well off the Pacific coast of Mexico. The system moves to the west-northwest at first, before gradually curving to the west-southwest.
A map of the short, almost perfectly straight, horizontal path of a tropical depression well to the south of Hawaii
Track maps of tropical depressions Two‑E (top) and One‑C (bottom), which developed within 48 hours of each other in early July

July 2

July 3

July 4

July 5

July 6

July 12

A photograph of a tropical storm off the Pacific coast of Mexico. Most of the thicker clouds are on the right side of the storm, particularly in a long curved band that arcs to the south.
Satellite image of Tropical Storm Blas just after peak intensity late on July 13

July 13

July 14

July 15

July 19

July 22

A map of the path of a hurricane well off the Pacific coast of Mexico. It generally moves west-northwestward, except for a portion midway through its track where the system moves nearly due west.
Track map of Hurricane Celia

July 24

July 26

July 27

July 28

A photograph of a hurricane over the Eastern Pacific Ocean. It has a well-defined eye embedded by a round area of thick clouds, though most of the hurricane's cloud cover is located in a long, wide band that curves around the right and bottom flanks.
Satellite image of a strengthening Hurricane Darby late on July 28

July 29

July 30

July 31

August

A photograph of a tropical depression over the Eastern Pacific Ocean. The system is severely disorganized, to the point where its cloud pattern consists of amorphous blobs.
Satellite image of Tropical Depression Six‑E late on August 1

August 1

August 2

August 19

August 20

A photograph of a tropical storm over the Eastern Pacific Ocean. It has a tight and well-organized cloud pattern; near the center is a small area of blossoming convection to the right of a tiny hole in the cloud cover.
Satellite image of a strengthening Tropical Storm Estelle late on August 20

August 21

August 23

A photograph of a hurricane well to the southwest of the Baja California peninsula. The eye is small and oblong, and most of the thicker clouds are in the bottom-right quadrant of the hurricane.
Short-wave infrared satellite image of Hurricane Frank at peak intensity early on August 24

August 24

August 25

A photograph of a tropical depression over the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Convection associated with the depression is fairly light and mostly confined to the top-left quadrant, with the center of circulation being nearly outside of the convective canopy. A long, broken rainband extends eastward from the northern flank of the depression. A large expanse of wispy, puffy, high clouds surrounds the depression to the top-right, top-left, and bottom-left.
Satellite image of Tropical Depression Nine‑E late on August 25

August 26

August 27

A map of the path of a tropical storm over the Eastern Pacific Ocean. It begins by briefly moving in a west-northwestward direction that parallels the Pacific coast of Mexico; it then curves into a motion that is just north of due west, which it generally maintains until dissipation.
Track map of Tropical Storm Georgette

August 30

August 31

September

September 1

A photograph of a powerful hurricane off the Pacific coast of Mexico. The eye is cloud-covered but well-defined and surrounded by a thick ring of intense convection. There are several pronounced rainbands spiraling out from the center of the hurricane, separated from each other by a couple arcs of thinner/lower clouds.
Satellite image of Hurricane Howard at peak intensity on September 2

September 2

September 3

September 4

A map of the path of a hurricane off the Pacific coast of Mexico. It parallels the coast for much of its existence, moving in a generally northwestward direction that gradually gains a more northward component as it goes on. After the system degenerates into a remnant low, it moves westward for a short time before switchinf to a southwestward heading, which it maintains until dissipation.
Track map of Hurricane Howard

September 5

September 8

September 10

A map of the path of a hurricane over the Eastern Pacific Ocean. The system initially moves northwestward for a very short distance before switching to a generally westward heading, which it maintains for much of its existence. During the latter half of its tenure, the system briefly moves west-northwestward before nearly stalling. After degenerating into a remnant low, the system turns to the west-southwest and proceeds to gradually curve back to the west, at nearly the same latitude where its previous westward motion had been; it continues in this general direction until it dissipates.
Track map of Hurricane Isis

September 11

September 12

September 13

A photograph of a powerful hurricane off the Pacific coast of Mexico. It has a small and clear eye surrounded by a thick ring of solid white clouds, indicating intense convection. There are several well-pronounced rainbands, especially on the left side of the hurricane. Also on the left side of, and perpendicular to, the hurricane are some thin streaks of high clouds jutting out westward; these are indicative that the hurricane has healthy outflow, which is one of the things a tropical cyclone needs to get stronger and stay strong.
Satellite image of Hurricane Javier just before peak intensity late on September 13

September 14

September 15

September 16

A photograph of a tropical storm over the Eastern Pacific Ocean; it has an oblong shape, much wider horizontally than vertically, though it does have an overall well-organized cloud pattern with multiple spiral bands and a thick area of convection near the center. This storm has some of the same outflow characteristics described in the previous photograph, although these thin streaks are jutting out to the bottom instead of the left.
Satellite image of Tropical Storm Isis late on September 15, just after weakening below hurricane strength

September 17

September 18

September 19

A map of the path of a hurricane near and over the Pacific coast of Mexico. The hurricane parallels the coast for much of its existence, first by moving westward, and then by assuming an extended, somewhat bumpy, but overall northwestward motion. A turn to the north-northeast brings it over the Baja California peninsula and the Gulf of California before it dissipates over the mainland of northwestern Mexico.
Track map of Hurricane Javier

October

October 4

October 5

A map of the path of a tropical storm well off the Pacific coast of Mexico. It begins by moving westward before gently curving to the northwest over a short distance; it then abruptly switches to a southwestward motion, continuing in that direction for a short while until dissipation.
Track map of Tropical Storm Kay

October 6

October 11

A photograph of a tropical storm very near the Pacific coast of Mexico; some of the clouds are spreading over the terrain, though most of it is in some closely grouped rainbands spiraling out to the south of the storm's center. Near the center is a slight dimple in the cloud tops, representing a primitive eye feature.
Satellite image of Tropical Storm Lester shortly after being upgraded late on October 12

October 12

October 13

October 25

October 26

A map of the path of a tropical depression over the far eastern portion of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It begins off the coast of Mexico and continues almost due northward to the shoreline, tracking over the southern portion of the Gulf of California in the process.
Track map of Tropical Depression Sixteen‑E

November

  • No tropical cyclones were active in November.

November 30

  • The 2004 Pacific hurricane season officially ends.[1]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Between 1991 and 2020, an average Pacific hurricane season yielded fifteen tropical storms, eight hurricanes, and four major hurricanes.[1]
  2. ^ A major hurricane is a Pacific or Atlantic hurricane that reaches Category 3 or higher on the five-level Saffir–Simpson scale, with maximum sustained winds of at least 111 mph (179 km/h).[1]
  3. ^ Broadly speaking, Accumulated Cyclone Energy is the square of a tropical cyclone's wind intensity in knots at six-hour intervals, multiplied by the length of time it existed.[4]
  4. ^ While the Central Pacific Hurricane Center's (CPHC) year-end report on tropical activity within their area of responsibility in 2004 stated that Tropical Depression One‑C formed at 00:00 UTC on July 5,[2] the system's listing in the Eastern and Central Pacific hurricane database (HURDAT) begins 24 hours earlier, at 00:00 UTC on July 4.[18]
  5. ^ The position of Darby's remnants at 12:00 UTC on August 1 is based solely on the CPHC's 2004 year-end report;[2] neither HURDAT nor the National Hurricane Center's Tropical Cyclone Report for Darby provide coordinates for where it ceased to be a tropical cyclone.[18][21]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Tropical Cyclone Climatology". Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on October 10, 2024. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Nash, Andy; Craig, Tim; Matsuda, Roy; Powell, Jeffrey (February 2005). 2004 Tropical Cyclones Central North Pacific (PDF) (NOAA Technical Memorandum NWSTM PR-52). Honolulu, Hawaii: Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 18, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Avila, Lixion A.; Pasch, Richard J.; Beven II, John L.; Franklin, James L.; Lawrence, Miles B.; Stewart, Stacy R. (August 2, 2005). "Annual Summary: Eastern North Pacific Hurricane Season of 2004". Monthly Weather Review. 134 (3). American Meteorological Society: 1026. Bibcode:2006MWRv..134.1026A. doi:10.1175/MWR3095.1.
  4. ^ "Background information: Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season". College Park, Maryland: United States Climate Prediction Center. May 22, 2019. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  5. ^ "Basin Archives: Northeast Pacific Ocean Historical Tropical Cyclone Statistics". Fort Collins, Colorado: Colorado State University. Archived from the original on November 29, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  6. ^ "Huracán "Javier" Acecha a la Costa Pacífica de México". Nacion Internacionales (in Mexican Spanish). Mexico City. Associated Press. September 15, 2004. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Avila, Lixion A. (November 15, 2004). "Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Javier" (PDF). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Stewart, Stacy R. (November 18, 2004). Tropical Cyclone Report: Tropical Depression Sixteen-E (PDF) (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  9. ^ Roth, David M. "Hurricane Javier – September 18–21, 2004". College Park, Maryland: Weather Prediction Center. Archived from the original on April 14, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  10. ^ Tolbert, Jim (September 5, 2004). "Rainy Weather Knocks Out Sport fishing for La Playita Pangas". MexFish.com. San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  11. ^ Robinson, Alicia (September 7, 2004). "Quiet Summer Season Ends". Daily Pilot. Los Angeles, California. Archived from the original on December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024 – via Los Angeles Times.
  12. ^ a b c d e Pasch, Richard J.; Roberts, David P. (December 10, 2004). "Tropical Cyclone Report: Tropical Storm Lester" (PDF). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  13. ^ "NHC Tropical Cyclone Text Product Descriptions". Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on July 10, 2024. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  14. ^ "Update on NHC Products and Services for 2015" (PDF). National Hurricane Center. March 26, 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  15. ^ "Understanding the Date/Time Stamps". Silver Spring, Maryland: National Weather Service. Archived from the original on February 26, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  16. ^ a b c d e Avila, Lixion A. (June 2, 2004). Tropical Cyclone Report: Tropical Storm Agatha (PDF) (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
  17. ^ a b c Lawrence, Miles B. (July 17, 2004). Tropical Cyclone Report: Tropical Depression Two-E (PDF) (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
  18. ^ a b c d e National Hurricane Center; Hurricane Research Division; Central Pacific Hurricane Center (April 26, 2024). "The Northeast and North Central Pacific hurricane database 1949–2023". United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. Archived from the original on May 29, 2024. A guide on how to read the database is available here. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  19. ^ a b c d e Pasch, Richard J. (August 5, 2004). Tropical Cyclone Report: Tropical Storm Blas (PDF) (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g Stewart, Stacy R. (October 12, 2004). Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Celia (PDF) (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Beven, Jack (December 17, 2004). Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Darby (PDF) (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  22. ^ a b c Avila, Lixion; Beven, Jack; Franklin, James; Lawrence, Miles; Pasch, Richard; Stewart, Stacy (December 1, 2004). Tropical Weather Summary (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  23. ^ a b Franklin, James L.; Knabb, Richard D. (November 16, 2004). Abbreviated Tropical Cyclone Report: Tropical Depression Six-E (PDF) (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  24. ^ a b c d e f Avila, Lixion A. (November 3, 2004). Tropical Cyclone Report: Tropical Storm Estelle (PDF) (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g Roberts, David P.; Lawrence, Miles B. (November 19, 2004). Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Frank (PDF) (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  26. ^ a b c d Pasch, Richard J. (November 12, 2004). Abbreviated Tropical Cyclone Report: Tropical Depression Nine-E (PDF) (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  27. ^ a b c d e Stewart, Stacy R. (October 14, 2004). Tropical Cyclone Report: Tropical Storm Georgette (PDF) (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  28. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Beven, Jack (December 13, 2004). Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Howard (PDF) (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h i Franklin, James L.; Roberts, David P. (November 17, 2004). Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Isis (PDF) (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  30. ^ a b c d e Roberts, David P.; Lawrence, Miles B. (November 20, 2004). Tropical Cyclone Report: Tropical Storm Kay (PDF) (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2010.