East Pacific Ocean Spawns Record Second Major Hurricane Before July

The eastern Pacific Ocean is primed for powerful hurricanes this year, as proven during the past two weeks. First, Hurricane Amanda — the first storm of the young season — exploded to high-end Category 4 status in late May. Now, just two weeks later, Hurricane Cristina, which also formed off the west coast of Mexico, rapidly intensified between June 11-12, winding up as a high-end Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale

In the history of hurricane records for that region, there had never been two category 4 or stronger hurricanes in any season prior to July 1, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. Hurricane Amanda had also set another milestone when it became the strongest May hurricane on record for that ocean basin. Read more...