Pali (2016)

Hurricane Pali formed very near the equator in early January 2016. A weak surface low developed near 1.9°N on 6 January and became Tropical Depression One-C at 0600 UTC 7 January about 1,425 nautical miles southwest of Honolulu. The storm drifted and looped in the central North Pacific just east of the International Date Line and existed from 7 January until it weakened to a remnant low on 14 January, dissipating shortly thereafter about 50 nautical miles from where it began.

Pali did not make any landfalls. It spent its entire life over open water in the deep tropics east of the International Date Line and never prompted watches or warnings for land areas.

The cyclone reached its maximum strength on 12 January 2016. Peak sustained winds were 85 knots (98 mph) with a minimum central pressure of 978 mb, making it a Category 2 hurricane at peak intensity on the Saffir–Simpson scale.

Because Pali remained over the open ocean, there were no reported storm surge measurements tied to coastal inundation and no reported rainfall totals for populated locations in the NHC report. No ship reports of tropical-storm-force winds were received.

There were no reports of damage or casualties associated with Pali. The storm’s impacts were limited to the marine environment and it caused no known direct or indirect deaths.

Pali was notable for several records and unusual behaviors: it was the earliest tropical cyclone observed to form in a calendar year in the central North Pacific and the earliest hurricane observed there, forming and strengthening at an exceptionally low latitude (near 2–8°N). Its genesis was poorly anticipated because of that unusual timing and location, though track forecasts performed comparably to recent averages; intensity forecasts showed larger than normal errors.