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2018 Pacific hurricane season

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  • 5 chapters
This map shows the tracks of all tropical cyclones in the 2018 Pacific hurricane season . The points show the location of each storm at 6-hour intervals. The colour represents the storm's maximum sust
Sria-72 · Public domain

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Through El Niño–Southern Oscillation and Jet stream

The second named storm of the season, Hurricane Bud, struck Baja California Sur in mid-June, causing minor damage. Tropical Storm Carlotta stalled offshore of the Mexican coastline, where it also caused minor damage. In early August, Hurricane Hector became one of the few tropical cyclones to cross into the Western Pacific from the Eastern Pacific, while also affecting Hawaii. Tropical Storm Ileana brought torrential rainfall to southwestern Mexico during early August, causing relatively minor damage. A few weeks later, Hurricane Lane obtained Category 5 intensity while also becoming Hawaii's wettest tropical cyclone on record and the second wettest tropical cyclone in United States history, only behind Hurricane Harvey of the previous year. Hurricane Olivia also struck Hawaii, resulting in relatively minor damage.

In late September, hurricanes Rosa and Sergio formed, both of which eventually brought thunderstorms and flash flooding to the Baja California Peninsula and the Southwestern United States. Tropical Depression Nineteen-E became the first tropical cyclone to form in the Gulf of California before it brought severe flooding to Sinaloa, Mexico, causing significant damage. Meanwhile, Hurricane Walaka attained Category 5 intensity before causing disruptions in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. In late October, Hurricane Willa became the record-tying third Category 5 hurricane of the season (tied with the 1994, 2002 and 2026 seasons ) before striking Sinaloa as a major hurricane, causing severe damage. Tropical Storm Vicente simultaneously affected the region just south of where Willa made landfall, causing severe flooding and dozens of landslides. Altogether, six systems made landfall this season. Damage across the basin reached $1.64 billion (2018 USD), while 57 people were killed by the various storms.


Seasonal forecasts

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its annual forecast on May 24, 2018, predicting an 80% chance of a near- to above-average season in both the Eastern and Central Pacific basins, with a total of 14–20 named storms, 7–12 hurricanes, and 3–7 major hurricanes. The reason for their outlook was the possible development of an El Niño, which reduces vertical wind shear across the basin and increases sea surface temperatures. In addition, many global computer models expected a positive Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) that had been ongoing since 2014 to continue. PDO is a phase of a multi-decade cycle that favors much warmer than average sea surface temperatures, which is in contrast to the 1995–2013 period, which featured below-normal activity. The Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN) issued its first forecast for the season on May 25, predicting a total of 18 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes to develop.

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