Hurricane Fico was the longest-lived hurricane of the 1978 Pacific hurricane season and at the time was the longest-lasting Pacific hurricane on record, the record being held today by Hurricane John of 1994. The sixth tropical storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane, Fico developed from a tropical disturbance off the coast of Mexico on July 9. It moved northwestward and then westward, quickly reaching peak winds of 140 mph (220 km/h) o...
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Hurricane Fico was the longest-lived hurricane of the 1978 Pacific hurricane season and at the time was the longest-lasting Pacific hurricane on record, the record being held today by Hurricane John of 1994. The sixth tropical storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane, Fico developed from a tropical disturbance off the coast of Mexico on July 9. It moved northwestward and then westward, quickly reaching peak winds of 140 mph (220 km/h) on July 12. Moving nearly due westward, the intensity of Fico fluctuated from Category 1 to Category 4 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale for the following days, and it passed about 170 miles (275 km) south of Hawaii on July 20 with winds of 115 mph (185 km/h). Fico slowly weakened as it turned to the northwest over cooler waters, and became an extratropical cyclone on July 28 to the northeast of Midway Island.
Swells from Fico, combined with swells from a storm in the Southern Hemisphere, produced rough surf throughout the Hawaiian...
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