Publication Date December 3, 2015 | Washington Post

The typically quiet Central Pacific hurricane season shattered records this year

United States
The 2015 Central Pacific hurricane season is going in the record books. (NASA)
The 2015 Central Pacific hurricane season is going in the record books. (NASA)

A typical hurricane season is relatively quiet in this portion of the Pacific, but this was certainly not the case in 2015. There were a total of 14 named storms, eight hurricanes and five major hurricanes that either formed formed in the Central Pacific or tracked into the Central Pacific in 2015. This year shattered all of the records set in previous seasons: 10 named storms (set in 1982 and 1997), five hurricanes (set in 1982 and 1994) and three major hurricanes (set in 1994). In addition, eight named storms actually formed in the basin, which doubled the previous record of four set in 1982. Lastly, the season’s total activity, measured by accumulated cyclone energy, also reached record high levels in 2015 (an ACE of 127, breaking the old record of 107 set in 1994).