October 2019 Tropical Cyclones Report

Note: This report catalogs recent tropical cyclones across the North Atlantic and East Pacific and places each basin’s tropical cyclone activity in a climate-scale context. It is not updated in real time. Users seeking the real time status and forecasts of tropical cyclones should visit The National Hurricane Center.

---

Significant Events

Super Typhoon Hagibis Satellite Image - Oct. 10, 2019
Source: NOAA

The Atlantic and East Pacific were both quieter than normal during October. The Atlantic produced five named storms, which was above the average number of 2.0. Only one storm,  Hurricane Pablo, reached hurricane strength in either basin. This lack of hurricanes left most metrics of tropical activity below normal for the month in both basins.

Despite their weak intensities, several tropical cyclones did have significant impacts during October. The remnants of Tropical Storm Melissa transitioned into a strong nor'easter that effected the northeastern US. Tropical Storm Nestor and the remnants of Tropical Storm Olga both brought significant rainfall to the Gulf Coast and the Southeast. In the East Pacific, Tropical Storms Narda and Priscilla made landfall in Mexico with significant flooding in each case.

The most impactful tropical cyclone of October 2019 was arguably Super typhoon Hagibis. Hagibis was just the third category 5 tropical cyclone globally in 2019 (Super Typhoon Wutip and Hurricane Dorian were the others). Hagibis weakened to a category 2 storm before making landfall in Japan, but was still one of the most damaging typhoons in history. The remnants of Hagibis transitioned to an extratropical cyclone that affected the Aleutian Islands and significantly altered the weather patterns over the North America in the subsequent days.