2019 Pacific hurricane season (Sass's version)

The 2019 Pacific hurricane season was the most destructive Pacific hurricane season on record, surpassing 2013. The season continued the trend of highly Pacific hurricane seasons that began in the aforesaid year, with 23 named storms, 15 hurricanes, and 9 major hurricanes. The central Pacific, a portion of the Eastern Pacific encompassing the area between the International Dateline and 140th meridian west, awoke from an unusual 2-year dormant stage, with 6 tropical cyclones developing in the basin. Moreover, the seasonal total for the quantity of hurricanes was second-highest in the basin's history, behind the record-breaking 16 set by 1990, 1992, 2014, and 2015, respectively. The season officially started on May 15 in the East Pacific and June 1 in the Central Pacific; the ending dates for both is November 30, respectively. However, the formation of tropical cyclones is possible any time of the year, as demonstrated by the development of Hurricane Walaka in January. The activity was attributed to the development of a strong El Niño, taking place in November of 2018 and persisting through most of 2019.

The season featured several intense, long-tracked storms, some of which had serious impact on land. Moreover, the season featured a highly unusual number of tropical cyclones striking the U.S. state of Hawaii. At least 5 tropical cyclones struck the state, which was still recovering from the devastating impact of Hurricane Lane the previous year. Three hurricanes - one a category 4 - made landfall across various islands, inflicting a combined total of U.S. $2.4 billion in damage and triggering immense criticism against U.S. President Donald Trump and FEMA for a lackluster response to the devastation. The criticism mimicked that of the Puerto Rican government in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, to which Trump had also come under fire for due to a seemingly "slow" response and the fact the island nation was still recovering in 2019 from the 2017 hurricane. Other areas in the central Pacific, including the Johnston Atoll, received direct impacts from the storms this season, mostly due in part to Hurricane Walaka, and later, Hurricanes Ema and Iona.

The country of Mexico was also not left without loss, having been struck at least a total of 9 times. It began in late May, when Hurricane Barbara, previously a category 4, approached the peninsula of Baja California Sur and made two separate landfalls, alternating multiple times between minimal hurricane and tropical storm intensity. In July, Tropical Depression Six-E made landfall in Manzanillo, causing minor damage. Later that month, Hurricane Flossie made a rare strike in the upper part of Baja California as a rapidly-weakening minimal hurricane. In August, Tropical Storm Henriette made landfall near Cabo San Lucas and brought minor rain-induced flooding to the region. Hurricane Juliette followed less than a week and a half later, coming ashore as a minimal hurricane near Culiacán. Hurricane Kiko then made landfall in the area previously affected by Henriette as a strong category 3 hurricane, causing damage equivalent to Hurricane Odile five years prior. Tropical Storm Narda then came ashore south of Puerto Vallarta as a tropical depression. The Baja California Sur region received its final strike in late September when Hurricane Raymond caused heavy damage north of Cabo San Lucas, having made landfall as a category 2 hurricane. In October, Hurricane Tico rapidly intensified in the waters offshore the state of Colima, attaining category 4 intensity. The storm later made landfall along the border of Jalisco and Colima while maintaining that intensity, causing significant damage to three major cities in the area.

The season also brought rare impact to the southwestern United States, as Hurricane Ivo became the first Eastern Pacific tropical cyclone to make landfall in the state of California since the 1939 California tropical storm. Ivo made landfall north of San Diego as a strong tropical storm, bringing unseasonably heavy rain and thunderstorms to much of the Pacific northwest, as well as fanning ongoing wildfires and triggering widespread blackouts, beach erosion, and heavy flooding.