Hurricane Hernan (1996)
Hurricane Hernan reached Category 1 in the Eastern Pacific between September 30, 1996 and October 4, 1996, with a lowest pressure of 980 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Hernan, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1996 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.
The storm
- Basin
- Eastern Pacific
- Dates
- September 30, 1996 to October 4, 1996
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 75 kt (86 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 980 mb (28.94 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 4.0
- Fastest the center moved
- 15 kt (17 mph)
- Identifier
- EP111996
Deaths and damage
No source this site reads carries a casualty or damage figure for this storm.
Landfall
| Time (UTC) | Where | Position | Wind | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 3, 10:00 | Cihuatlán, Jalisco, Mexico, 60 km away | 18.8N 104.9W | 65 kt (75 mph) | 987 mb |
Landfall points the US agencies flagged in the best track. The nearest town is named from the site’s gazetteer, not from the report.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30, 06:00 | 12.6N 98.7W | 30 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 30, 12:00 | 12.6N 99.7W | 30 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 30, 18:00 | 12.9N 100.7W | 35 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 1, 00:00 | 13.4N 101.5W | 35 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 1, 06:00 | 14.1N 101.4W | 35 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 1, 12:00 | 14.7N 101.1W | 45 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 1, 18:00 | 15.5N 101.3W | 50 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 2, 00:00 | 16.1N 101.7W | 55 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 2, 06:00 | 16.9N 102.3W | 65 kt | 987 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 2, 12:00 | 17.9N 103.1W | 75 kt | 980 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 2, 18:00 | 18.5N 103.9W | 70 kt | 981 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 3, 00:00 | 18.9N 104.6W | 65 kt | 985 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 3, 06:00 | 18.7N 104.9W | 65 kt | 987 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 3, 10:00 landfall | 18.8N 104.9W | 65 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 3, 12:00 | 19.5N 104.9W | 60 kt | 989 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 3, 18:00 | 20.1N 105.0W | 40 kt | 991 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 4, 00:00 | 20.7N 105.1W | 30 kt | 994 mb | Tropical depression |
| Oct 4, 06:00 | 21.1N 105.6W | 30 kt | 998 mb | Tropical depression |
| Oct 4, 12:00 | 21.7N 105.6W | 25 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical depression |
| Oct 4, 18:00 | 22.0N 105.5W | 25 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical depression |
Other Eastern Pacific storms of 1996
- Unnamed tropical stormEastern Pacific · 1996
- Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 1996
- Hurricane AlmaEastern Pacific · 1996
- Hurricane BorisEastern Pacific · 1996
- Tropical Storm CristinaEastern Pacific · 1996
- Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 1996
- Hurricane DouglasEastern Pacific · 1996
- Tropical Storm ElidaEastern Pacific · 1996
- Hurricane FaustoEastern Pacific · 1996
- Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 1996
- Hurricane YatesEastern Pacific · 1996
- Tropical Storm GenevieveEastern Pacific · 1996
- Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 1996
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.