Cristina’s Ominous New Record
June 13, 2014
Chris Mooney in Mother Jones:
Two weeks ago in the eastern Pacific hurricane basin, we saw Category 4 Hurricane Amanda, which was too strong, too early. Amanda was the “strongest May hurricane on record in the eastern Pacific basin during the satellite era,” noted the National Hurricane Center.
And right now, the basin is host to Category 4 Hurricane Cristina, which follows on Amanda’s record with a new one. The storm just put on an “extraordinary” burst of intensification in the last 24 hours, rocketing from Category 1 to Category 4 strength, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 150 miles per hour. And now that it has gotten there, notes the National Hurricane Center, we have another new record:
Cristina is the earliest 2nd major hurricane formation in the ern Pacific (reliable records since 1971) by 13 days, old record Darby 2010
Jeff Masters in Weather Underground, June 12:
Hurricane Cristina walled off the dry air surrounding it and put on an impressive round of rapid intensification overnight, topping out as powerful Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph winds and a central pressure estimated at 935 mb at 11 am EDT Thursday. Cristina is the second hurricane this year to reach major hurricane strength in the Eastern Pacific, setting a record for the earliest date of formation for the season’s second major hurricane.
The previous record was a full thirteen days later in the season: June 25, 2010, when Hurricane Darby reached Category 3 strength. The other major hurricane this year in the Eastern Pacific was Hurricane Amanda, which peaked as a top-end Category 4 hurricane with 155 mph winds at 15 UTC (10 am EST) May 25, becoming the strongest May hurricane ever recorded in the Eastern Pacific. This year is also the first time there have been two Category 4 hurricanes before July 1 in the Eastern Pacific. Prior to Cristina, the earliest second Category 4 hurricane was Hurricane Elida in 1984, which reached that threshold on July 1. Reliable records for the basin go back to 1966.
The usual formation date for the second hurricane of the Eastern Pacific season is July 14, so we are over a month ahead of usual for hurricanes in 2014. The 1981 – 2010 averages for the Eastern Pacific hurricane season are 15 named storms, 8 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes, so we’ve already had half the usual number of major hurricanes for an entire season, with the typical August 24 peak of the season nearly two and a half months away.
This year is shaping up to be an El Niño year, and El Niño conditions typically increase the sea surface temperatures and decrease the vertical wind shear over the tropical Eastern Pacific, favoring the development of more and stronger tropical cyclones.
Climate Denial Crock of the Week 
June 13, 2014 at 9:08 am
What is the information in any Mooney piece, I cannot tell. This brouhaha about some hurricanes somewhere in the world is weather, and should be treated as such..
June 13, 2014 at 10:18 am
Typically clueless and meaningless Omnobabble about Mooney, and no mention at all about what Masters had to say, which was significant.
You’ve been noticed and given some attention, Omno—now go away.
June 14, 2014 at 6:57 pm
Thanks for stopping by to collect your usual complement of downvotes and drop off yet another pointless remark.
Your street cred has been established for this quarter in case you were feeling anxious.
Now I suggest you go plan for a Happy Father’s Day – elsewhere.
June 13, 2014 at 9:40 am
I’ve already had two Cristina’s in my life. Three’s a crowd.
June 13, 2014 at 1:20 pm
And here I was going to mention yesterday how refreshing the place has been of late without Konstant Kavilling (TM) from omno, hoping beyond hope that he was gone. Sigh.
Omno – we actually know hurricanes are weather. It’s interesting because it may indicate a coming El Nino, not that it is tortured confirmation of AGW.
June 13, 2014 at 2:12 pm
I don’t follow comments where I don’t post mines but if all you can talk about and enjoy is my absence, your condition is worse than we thought.
As for el Niño working its way back in time to influence ‘canes before it happens, I shall rest my judgement until I get a tachyon reading or two.
ps if the 2014 E Pac season is climatically relevant so should be the 2013 Atlantic season
June 13, 2014 at 9:48 pm
Who is the “WE” you refer to in your first sentence? Those mysterious voices that only you can hear? Or are you now referring to yourself in the third person and that’s an “imperial” WE?
The rest of what you say is nonsense, as usual.
June 14, 2014 at 2:12 am
somebody please tell minion dumbold that in climate change matters, it’s always worse than we thought.
76,200 times, in fact at last count.
June 14, 2014 at 5:46 am
A small glimmer of understanding breaks through Omno’s fog of confusion? He DOES finally understand that “it’s worse than we thought”? Is he going to now stop his denialism and accept reality?
Of course, his link shows only 34,200 hits rather 76,000, but why quibble over such a small “miss” of 41,800? In the world of Omno, errors like that don’t matter.
June 14, 2014 at 6:32 am
apologies – I forgot how tailored Google is, nowadays. It shows 76,200 hits to me, far fewer to lesser minds.
June 14, 2014 at 6:44 am
I Yahoo’ed. Why do you veer off into irrelevancies when the BIG questions remain unanswered?
A small glimmer of understanding breaks through Omno’s fog of confusion ???
He DOES finally understand that “it’s worse than we thought” ???????
Is he going to now stop his denialism and accept reality ??????? ?????
June 14, 2014 at 7:22 am
you’re worse than I thought. no denying there.
June 14, 2014 at 7:48 am
“Worseness” is in the eye of the beholder and is relative, Omno, I hate to bring up an inconvenient truth to you, but have you noticed our “relative” thumbs up and thumbs down counts on this thread?
You should be glad that there’s someone here who bothers to feed your narcissism by replying to your foolishness—the others ignore you except for giving a thumbs down.
I’m stopping now—-continue to talk to yourself if you wish—-we won’t be listening.
June 13, 2014 at 4:15 pm
Just to keep things in perspective, Cristina was a relatively tiny storm with hurricane force winds about 15 miles across and tropical storm force winds a mere 80 miles across.
Compare to Super Typhoon Tip of the 1979 Pacific season. Its TS winds extended 1,380 miles at greatest extent.
Thus, one could fit about 30 Cristina’s into one Tip.
Teapot, meet tempest.
June 13, 2014 at 9:42 pm
Uh, Ray? The “record” business here is not for size but for how powerful they were and particularly how early in the season they appeared.
June 16, 2014 at 7:30 am
[…] 2014/06/13: PSinclair: Cristina’s Ominous New Record […]
June 16, 2014 at 12:38 pm
[…] 2014/06/13: PSinclair: Cristina’s Ominous New Record […]
June 18, 2014 at 6:31 am
Geez… How many records must be set before its called climate change among some people? The idea of shifting baseline surely applies here to replies like omno’s who fail to see change as its always relative to his last experience. The boiling frog anecdote is also a good analogy in this regard.
June 18, 2014 at 8:42 pm
One denier I argued with some time back said that he wouldn’t change his mind until all the all time records for highest temps & heat waves on every continent have been surpassed.