Wikipedia:Today's featured article/August 11, 2014

Hurricane John

Hurricane John formed during the 1994 Pacific season and became both the longest-lasting and the farthest-traveling tropical cyclone ever observed. John formed during the strong El Niño episode of 1991 to 1994 and peaked as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, the highest categorization. It was recognized as Tropical Depression Ten-E on August 11, 300 nautical miles (560 km) south-southeast of Acapulco, Mexico, and named Tropical Storm John later the same day. In total, it followed a 7,165 mi (11,530 km)* path from the eastern Pacific to the western Pacific and back to the central Pacific, lasting 31 days. Because it existed in both the eastern and western Pacific, John was one of a small number of tropical cyclones to be designated as both a hurricane and a typhoon. It was only the fifth tropical cyclone to enter the central Pacific from the western Pacific. John barely affected land, bringing only minimal effects to the Hawaiian Islands (some minor flooding but no reported injuries or significant damage) and a U.S. military base on Johnston Atoll, where damage to structures was estimated at about $15 million. The storm's remnants later affected Alaska. (Full article...)

Part of the Category 5 Pacific hurricanes featured topic.

Recently featured: Uruguayan War – Profumo affair – Electra Heart