Hurricane Nolo officially became a typhoon

Scientifically, hurricanes are the same as typhoons. Both are under the tropical cyclone umbrella.

The difference between the two lies in where they occur in the world.

In the Atlantic, eastern and Central Pacific tropical cyclones that reach a maximum sustained wind greater than 74 mph are known as hurricanes. In the Western Pacific, these storms are known as typhoons.

Nolo became a tropical storm south of Hawaii in the Central Pacific on Sep. 23.

The storm prompted hurricane watches on the Big Island as it slid to its south.

The storm weakened west of Hawaii last week before exploding back into a major hurricane over the weekend.

The Japanese Meteorological Agency and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center are now tracking the storm for regional and U.S. military interests, respectively.

The last storm to attain typhoon status from previously being a hurricane was Dora in 2023.

Dora did an even more uncommon thing, being only the second storm on record to be a hurricane or hurricane equivalent in the eastern, central, and Western Pacific.

Hurricane John in 1994 was the only other known tropical cyclone to do this. John is the farthest-traveling tropical cyclone ever observed worldwide. To date, Dora has traveled nearly 5,000 miles across the Pacific.

What made this even crazier is that before the cluster of storms developed in the Pacific, it was highlighted in the Atlantic for possible tropical development. It was tagged as Invest 95 L but never developed on the Atlantic side.

Dora rapidly intensified into a hurricane on Aug. 1, eventually reaching category 4 strength. Hurricane Dora became Typhoon Dora after it crossed the International Dateline.

Interestingly enough, Hurricane Dora from 1999 came close to trekking through all three basins as a hurricane.

Typically, storms in the Eastern Pacific weaken when they move into the cooler waters of the Central Pacific. However, steering currents kept Dora south over warmer waters for a longer period of time. El Niño was also present in 2023.

Prior to Dora, the last time a Pacific hurricane crossed the International Dateline and became a typhoon was Kilo in 2015.

Other notable hurricanes to become typhoons after crossing the International Dateline are:

Genevieve in 2014, Loke in 2006, Keoni in 1993, Ekeka in 1992, Enrique in 1991, Uleki in 1988, and Sarah in 1967.

The above storms were not hurricanes in all three Pacific basins but did cross the International Dateline at hurricane intensity to become a typhoon.

The 2023 Dora is not to be confused with the Atlantic Hurricane Dora that impacted Northeast Florida in 1964.