Paka is a retired Pacific hurricane name. The World Meteorological Organization took it off the lists after the 1997 storm, so no future storm in the eastern or central Pacific will be called Paka. It is the only storm named Paka in our archive, which covers every ocean since 1980.
Yes. Paka is on NHC’s list of retired eastern and central Pacific names because of the 1997 storm. It is one of 22 names retired there since 1965 (Tropical Cyclone Naming History and Retired Names).
A name is retired when a storm was so deadly or costly that using the name again would be insensitive; the World Meteorological Organization then picks a new name with the same first letter at its annual meeting.
It won’t be. Retired names are not used again on the eastern and central Pacific lists.
Paka formed in the Central Pacific in November 1997 and peaked as a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph (295 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 920 mb. It did not make landfall. The system was tracked for 24 days.
Hurricane Paka (1997): track and historyThe most recent was Hurricane Paka in 1997, in the Central Pacific. It formed on November 28, peaked at 185 mph (295 km/h) and lasted 24 days. It did not make landfall. It is the only storm named Paka in our archive, which covers every ocean since 1980.