Howard is the 8th name on the 2028 list of East Pacific hurricane names, so it is next scheduled for 2028. It is used that year only if the season reaches the letter H. Since 1980, seven storms have been named Howard; the strongest, in 1998, peaked as a Category 4 hurricane.
No. Howard is on the 2028 list of East Pacific names, and it is not among the 22 names NHC lists as retired from the eastern and central Pacific (Tropical Cyclone Naming History and Retired Names).
Howard is next scheduled for 2028, when the 2028 list is used. The six lists rotate, so each one returns every six years.
A name on the list is used only if the season gets that far. Howard is name 8 of 24, and 45 of the 46 East Pacific seasons from 1980 to 2025 got that far.
Howard formed in the East Pacific in August 2022 and peaked as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 983 mb. It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 7 days.
Hurricane Howard (2022): track and historyHoward formed in the East Pacific in July 2016 and peaked as a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 998 mb. It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 7 days.
Tropical Storm Howard (2016): track and historyHoward formed in the East Pacific in August 2004 and peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 943 mb. It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 11 days.
Hurricane Howard (2004): track and historyHoward formed in the East Pacific in August 1998 and peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (240 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 932 mb. It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 12 days.
Hurricane Howard (1998): track and historyHoward formed in the East Pacific in July 1992 and peaked as a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 992 mb. It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 5 days.
Tropical Storm Howard (1992): track and historyHoward formed in the East Pacific in August 1986 and peaked as a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 km/h). It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 2 days.
Tropical Storm Howard (1986): track and historyHoward formed in the East Pacific in July 1980 and peaked as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 km/h). It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 7 days.
Hurricane Howard (1980): track and historyNames go in alphabetical order, one per storm, as each storm reaches tropical-storm strength (39 mph, 34 knots), so a storm’s place in its season decides its name.
In each of 2022, 2016, 2004, 1998, 1992, 1986 and 1980, Howard was the 8th name used in the East Pacific season.
The most recent was Hurricane Howard in 2022, in the East Pacific. It formed on August 6, peaked at 85 mph (140 km/h) and lasted 7 days. It did not make landfall. It was the 8th name used in that East Pacific season. Before that, the name was used in 2016, 2004, 1998, 1992, 1986 and 1980.
Hurricane Howard in 1998 was the strongest, peaking as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 mph (240 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 932 mb. It formed in the East Pacific in August. The weakest of the seven, in 1986, peaked at 40 mph (65 km/h).