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Hurricane Patsy (was also Typhoon Patsy, international designation: 5912) was a tropical cyclone of both the 1959 Pacific typhoon season and the 1959 Pacific hurricane season. Moving erratically near the international dateline, the tropical cyclone never made landfall; it came close to Midway as a Category 3 hurricane, but caused no known impact, perhaps due to its small size. It is notable for being the earliest known Category 5 Pacific hurricane and the hurricane with the highest winds in the central north Pacific tropical cyclone basin, as well as being an uncommon west-to-east dateline crosser.

Meteorological history

Storm path

On September 6, reports from aircraft indicated the existence of a tropical storm near the international dateline. Earlier stages were missed because of a lack of data in the isolated area. A trough moved Patsy northeast. A second trough then developed, dominated over the first, and recurved Patsy northwest. It then slowly headed northwards and gradually weakened. It dissipated on September 10. Patsy's erratic path near the dateline was unusual and no known tropical cyclone had taken such a path over the previous ten years,^[1] although that of Typhoon June of 1958 was somewhat similar.^[2]

The National Hurricane Center's "best track" data set has Patsy exclusively east of the dateline from detection to dissipation.^[3] The Japan Meteorological Agency's "best track" does not give windspeeds, only indicating that Patsy was a typhoon.^[4] The Joint Typhoon Warning Center's report disagrees on location but also has Patsy's maximum windspeed east of the dateline;^[1] the JMA's data does not indicate windspeeds.^[4]

Impact and records

Hurricane Patsy caused no deaths or damage, as it stayed in the open Pacific near the dateline, but it did pass close to Midway.

Hurricane Patsy shares the record of the highest maximum reported windspeed in a central Pacific hurricane (150 knots (280 km/h); with Hurricane John of 1994). In addition, Patsy is an uncommon west-to-east crosser of the dateline. Including only systems recognized by the Central Pacific Hurricane Center, that has only happened six times since.^[5] Some doubt may exist regarding that windspeed due to one report of Category 5 winds also giving a sea level pressure of only 960 mb/hPa—^[6] a value typical of a Category 3 hurricane;^[7] the second report did not give a pressure.^[6]

References

External links

• Storm path