Hurricane History Map

1979 Eastern and central Pacific season

13 storms formed in the Eastern and central Pacific basin in 1979, from 31 May 1979 to 18 November 1979.

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Years1979
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

The 1979 season in numbers

The record holds 13 storms for the 1979 Eastern and central Pacific season, of which 10 had names.10 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 6 reached hurricane strength (category 1 or more) and 4 were major (category 3 or more).

  • 13storms
  • 10tropical storm strength or more
  • 6hurricane strength or more
  • 4major (category 3 to 5)
  • 57accumulated cyclone energy

Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the squared wind speed of every position of 34 knots or more, divided by 10,000. It is approximate here because the winds are 1-minute equivalents, and it is mostly useful for comparing seasons of one basin.

Strongest storms of 1979

  • Enrique (1979)17 August 1979 to 24 August 1979, peak Category 4 (125 kt)
  • Ignacio (1979)23 October 1979 to 30 October 1979, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 938 hPa
  • Dolores (1979)17 July 1979 to 23 July 1979, peak Category 3 (105 kt)
  • Fefa (1979)21 August 1979 to 25 August 1979, peak Category 3 (100 kt)
  • Andres (1979)31 May 1979 to 4 June 1979, peak Category 2 (85 kt)

All 13 storms of 1979

StormPeak
Andres Category 2
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Blanca Tropical storm
Carlos Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Dolores Category 3
Enrique Category 4
Fefa Category 3
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Guillermo Category 1
Hilda Tropical storm
Ignacio Category 4
Jimena Tropical storm

← 1978 · 1980 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1979

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