Tropical Storm John (1988)
Tropical Storm John peaked at 35 kt in the Eastern Pacific between August 16, 1988 and August 21, 1988, with a lowest pressure of 1004 mb.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Tropical Storm John. Open it to see storms, cones and warnings on the map.























Radar mosaic and map layers from NOAA MRMS. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
The storm
- Basin
- Eastern Pacific
- Dates
- August 16, 1988 to August 21, 1988
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 35 kt (40 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 1004 mb (29.65 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 60 km (37 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 0.4
- Fastest the center moved
- 9 kt (10 mph)
- Identifier
- EP101988
Deaths and damage
No source this site reads publishes a machine-readable casualty or damage figure for a storm of this era. The National Hurricane Center’s season tables begin in 1995 and carry deaths and damage only from 2005 in the Atlantic and 2020 in both basins; the US Storm Events record begins in 1996.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 18:00 | 17.5N 105.8W | 25 kt | 1012 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 17, 00:00 | 17.8N 106.3W | 30 kt | 1010 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 17, 06:00 | 18.1N 106.9W | 30 kt | 1009 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 17, 12:00 | 18.6N 107.4W | 30 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 17, 18:00 | 19.1N 107.8W | 35 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 18, 00:00 | 19.5N 108.2W | 35 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 18, 06:00 | 20.1N 108.7W | 35 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 18, 12:00 | 20.7N 109.2W | 30 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 18, 18:00 | 21.5N 109.7W | 30 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 19, 00:00 | 21.7N 110.3W | 30 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 19, 06:00 | 21.5N 110.6W | 30 kt | 1009 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 19, 12:00 | 21.4N 110.7W | 25 kt | 1011 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 19, 18:00 | 21.3N 110.7W | 25 kt | 1012 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 20, 00:00 | 21.1N 110.7W | 25 kt | 1011 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 20, 06:00 | 21.0N 110.4W | 30 kt | 1009 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 20, 12:00 | 21.2N 110.1W | 30 kt | 1009 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 20, 18:00 | 21.8N 109.9W | 25 kt | 1011 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 21, 00:00 | 22.3N 110.2W | 20 kt | 1013 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 21, 06:00 | 22.6N 110.7W | 20 kt | 1014 mb | Tropical depression |
Other Eastern Pacific storms of 1988
- Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 1988
- Tropical Storm AlettaEastern Pacific · 1988
- Tropical Storm BudEastern Pacific · 1988
- Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 1988
- Hurricane CarlottaEastern Pacific · 1988
- Tropical Storm DanielEastern Pacific · 1988
- Tropical Storm EmiliaEastern Pacific · 1988
- Tropical Storm GilmaEastern Pacific · 1988
- Hurricane FabioEastern Pacific · 1988
- Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 1988
- Hurricane HectorEastern Pacific · 1988
- Hurricane IvaEastern Pacific · 1988
- Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 1988
- Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 1988
- Hurricane UlekiEastern Pacific · 1988
- Hurricane KristyEastern Pacific · 1988
- Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 1988
- Tropical Storm WilaEastern Pacific · 1988
- Hurricane LaneEastern Pacific · 1988
- Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 1988
What this means
A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.
Sources
Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.
The National Hurricane Center has published no tropical cyclone report for this storm.