Hurricane Season 2024 considered “Below Average” in the Central Pacific
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th annually. With the end approaching this weekend, officials at NOAA and the National Weather Service have released their end-of-season summary for the Central Pacific Basin.
The Central Pacific only experienced two official tropical cyclones this year: Hurricane Hone and Hurricane Gilma.
Hone was the first tropical cyclone of the season and developed about 1,000 miles east-southeast of the Big Island on August 22nd. It was also the first tropical cyclone since Tropical Storm Ema in 2019 to form in the central Pacific.
Hone passed to the south of Hawaii Island, eventually strengthening into a Category 1 Hurricane just as it passed the southernmost tip of the island. Hone led to widespread flash flooding and wind damage on Hawaii Island. Several million dollars in damages were reported following the storm.
Hurricane Gilma followed shortly after Hone and dissipated before reaching the island chain. Minimal impacts from Gilma were recorded. Gilma formed in the eastern Pacific and peaked at Category 3 strength.
In May of 2024, NOAA released its annual outlook for the season, predicting a 50% chance of a below-normal amount of tropical cyclones. On average, the Central Pacific experiences four to five storms per year. With only two tropical cyclones in the Central Pacific Basin this year, Hurricane Season 2024 can be considered below average.
John Bravender, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the Honolulu National Weather Service, told Hawaii News Now that one of the reasons for the below-average year was the “El Niño Southern Oscillation.”
The ocean this summer was transitioning into a neutral phase out of an El Niño and towards a forecasted La Niña.
Bravender said that one of the ways this impacts our weather patterns is by “giving us more trade winds... and that leads to more wind shear near the islands. And the wind shear tends to disrupt any tropical cyclones that try to form, especially in the eastern Pacific.”
Hurricane season may be coming to an end, but tropical activity can happen year-round.
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