1983 Pacific hurricane season

1983 Pacific hurricane season
Season summary map
Seasonal boundaries
First system formed	May 21, 1983
Last system dissipated	December 7, 1983
Strongest storm
Name	Kiko and Raymond
• Maximum winds	145 mph (230 km/h) (1-minute sustained)
Seasonal statistics
Total depressions	26
Total storms	21
Hurricanes	12
Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+)	8
Total fatalities	168 total
Total damage	$816.33 million (1983 USD)
Related articles
1983 Atlantic hurricane season 1983 Pacific typhoon season 1983 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
Pacific hurricane seasons 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985

The 1983 Pacific hurricane season was the longest season ever recorded at that time. It was a very active Pacific hurricane season. The season started on May 15, 1983 in the eastern Pacific, and on 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.^[1] During the 1983 season, there were 20 named storms, which was slightly less than the previous season. Furthermore, twelve of those storms became hurricanes. And eight of the storms reached major hurricane status, or Category 3 or higher on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (SSHWS). The decaying 1982–83 El Niño event likely contributed to this level of activity. That same El Niño influenced a very quiet Atlantic hurricane season.

The first storm of the season, Hurricane Adolph, became the southernmost-forming east Pacific tropical cyclone on record after forming at a latitude of 7.1°N. After a slow start, activity picked up in July, when Hurricane Gil moved through the Hawaiian Islands, resulting in minor damage. In early August, Hurricane Ismael was responsible for three deaths and $19 million (1983 USD) in damage in the United States. In September, hurricanes Kiko and Lorena brought significant damage and seven deaths to southern Mexico. About a month later, Tropical Storm Octave became the worst tropical cyclone on record to affect Arizona. Octave killed 15 people, and caused $500 million in damage to Arizona and $12.5 million to New Mexico. Later in October, Hurricane Tico was a very intense hurricane at the time of its landfall and thus left 25,000 homeless. Damage throughout the country was estimated at $200 million while 135 deaths were reported in Mexico. Although most of its impact occurred in Mexico, Tico's remnants brought significant flooding in the Central United States, resulting in six deaths and $42 million in damage. A few days later, Hurricane Raymond posed a threat to Hawaii, but did little actual damage. The final storm of the season, Hurricane Winnie, was a rare December cyclone.