|name=. Remove this parameter; the article title is used as the name by default. Hurricane Pali at peak intensity,
over the Central Pacific on January 13 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | January 7, 2016 |
| Remnant low | January 14, 2016 |
| Dissipated | January 15, 2016 |
| Category 2 hurricane | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | 100 mph (155 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 978 mbar (hPa); 28.88 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 4 total |
| Damage | Unknown |
| Areas affected | Kiribati |
| IBTrACS / [1] | |
Part of the 2016 Pacific hurricane season | |
Hurricane Pali was the earliest-forming Pacific hurricane on record, being the first Pacific hurricane to occur in January since Hurricane Ekeka of 1992. The first tropical cyclone of the 2016 Pacific hurricane season, Pali originated as an area of low pressure within a persistent trough, near the equator on January 6, 2016. Deep convection gradually built up around the center of the disturbance as the system curved northward, before it organized into a tropical depression on the next day, making the system the earliest recorded tropical cyclone in the Pacific hurricane basin. The system quickly intensified into a tropical storm, resulting in it being named Pali. During the next few days, Pali slowly moved northward while slowly curving towards the west, strengthening somewhat before weakening due to the presence of wind shear. On January 10, Pali slowly turned eastward and proceeded to re-strengthen as wind shear diminished.
On January 12, Pali strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale (SSWHS) while curving towards the south. The next day, Pali reached its peak intensity as a Category 2 hurricane, with 1-minute maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (155 km/h)[nb 1] and a minimum central pressure of 978 mbar (hPa; 28.88 inHg). Afterward, Pali quickly began to weaken, as the storm encountered stronger wind shear, with the storm weakening into a Category 1 hurricane several hours later, before weakening into a tropical storm later that day. On January 14, Pali weakened into a tropical depression before degenerating into a remnant low the next day, since conditions became increasingly hostile. Later that day, Pali's remnants dissipated near the same location where they had formed roughly a week ago. Pali formed and tracked near the equator, forming at a latitude of 3.3°N and tracking as low as 2.6°N as a tropical depression. This made Pali the second-lowest latitude tropical cyclone on record in the Western Hemisphere at the time, which was extremely unusual, given the unfavorable conditions that are usually in place around the equator.
Pali had severe impacts in Kiribati, grounding a cargo ship and killing four people, in addition to causing major coastal flooding, although the total amount of damage was not specified in the island nation's report to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).[2][3][4]
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