Hurricane Hernan (2002)

Hurricane Hernan was the second of three Category 5 hurricanes during the 2002 Pacific hurricane season. The twelfth tropical cyclone, tenth named storm and sixth hurricane of the season, Hernan originated from a tropical wave that formed in the Atlantic Ocean and crossed to the Pacific Ocean. The wave spawned a low-pressure area which organized into a tropical depression on August 30, a tropical storm on August 31 and a hurricane later that day. Hernan rapidly intensified and reached peak intensity as a Category 5 storm on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale. Proceeding northwest, it maintained this strength for eight hours, but on September 2 it entered cooler waters and began to weaken. By September 6 it had degenerated into a remnant area of low pressure.

Hernan was the second most intense hurricane of the season, and it maintained Category 5 status for the second-longest time of the season, behind Hurricane Kenna. Although Hernan remained far from land, swells of 15–20 feet (4–6 meters) caused minor beach erosion along the coast of Mexico. In addition, an associated remnant plume of moisture generated light shower activity in southern California as it tracked just offshore.