1996 WMHB Pacific hurricane season (Cooper)

The 1996 Pacific hurricane season was a below-average Pacific hurricane season, with 11 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes forming. The season officially began on May 15, 1996 in the eastern Pacific, and on June 1, 1996 in the central Pacific, while the season ended in both basins on November 30, 1996. These dates historically describe the period each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Pacific basin and are adopted by convention. However, tropical cyclogenesis is possible at any time of the year, as demonstrated by the formation of Tropical Storm Alma on May 13.

Storm names
The following list of names was used for named storms that formed in the Northeastern Pacific in 1996. The names not retired from this list were used again in the 2002 season. This was the same list used in the 1990 season.

Retirement
In the spring of 1997, at the 19th session of the RA IV hurricane committee, the World Meteorological Organization retired the name Hernan from its rotating name lists due to the amount of damage and deaths it caused, and it will not be used again for another Pacific hurricane. It was replaced with Horatio for the 2002 season.