text: hurricane fico hurricane fico was the longest - lived hurricane of the 1978 pacific hurricane season and became the longest - lasting pacific hurricane on record , a record broken by hurricane tina fourteen years later . the sixth tropical storm , fourth hurricane , and third major hurricane , fico developed from a tropical disturbance off the coast of mexico on july 9 . it moved northwestward and then westward , quickly reaching peak winds of 140 mph ( 220 km / h ) on july 12 . moving nearly due westward , the intensity of fico fluctuated from category 1 to category 4 status on the saffir - simpson hurricane scale for the following days , and it passed about 170 miles ( 275 km ) south of hawaii on july 20 with winds of 115 mph ( 185 km / h ) . fico slowly weakened as it turned to the northwest over cooler waters , and became an extratropical cyclone on july 28 to the northeast of midway island . swells from fico , combined with swells from a storm in the southern hemisphere , produced rough surf throughout the hawaiian islands . the surf destroyed one house and resulted in considerable damage along the southern coast of the island of hawaii . no deaths were reported , and damage totaled $ 200 , 000 ( 1978 usd , $ 619 , 000 2006 usd ) . meteorological history a tropical disturbance persisted 520 miles ( 835 km ) south of acapulco on july 3 . it moved steadily westward and organized over warm water temperatures of 81 ° f ( 27 ° c ) . a circulation developed within the system , and on july 9 it organized into tropical depression seven while located about 580 miles ( 930 km ) southwest of acapulco . the depression turned to the west - northwest , and after briefly weakening it organized more to attain tropical storm status on july 10 while located about 745 miles ( 1 , 200 km ) south of the southern tip of peninsula . tropical storm fico turned to the northwest after reaching tropical storm status , and entered an area of increasingly warm water temperatures . it quickly strengthened , and 18 hours after becoming a tropical storm fico strengthened into a hurricane . as the hurricane turned to the west - northwest , a well - defined eye developed in the center of the hurricane , and fico continued to quickly intensify . fico attained category 4 strength about 24 hours after it first became a hurricane , and on july 12 it reached peak winds of 140 mph ( 220 km / h ) while located 640 miles ( 1 , 030 km ) southwest of cabo san lucas . throughout its duration , the eye of the hurricane was around 35 miles ( 56 km ) in diameter . while moving nearly due westward , fico maintained peak winds for about 12 hours before weakening over cooler water temperatures . on july 14 , passing over an area of 79 ° f ( 26 ° c ) waters , the hurricane became disorganized while its winds dropped to 90 mph ( 150 km / h ) . shortly thereafter , it again moved into an area of 83 ° f ( 28 ° c ) waters , and again reached winds of 135 mph ( 215 km / h ) on july 15 . for 48 hours , fico 's winds fluctuated slightly , briefly dropping to 120 mph ( 195 km / h ) before strengthening again to 135 mph ( 215 km / h ) . on july 17 the hurricane again began to weaken , and its winds dropped to 90 mph ( 140 km / h ) as fico entered the central pacific hurricane center area of responsibility . fico slowly and reached category 3 status late on july 20 while passing about 170 miles ( 275 km ) south of the island of hawaii . the hurricane turned to the northwest toward an upper - level trough of low pressure , and after maintaining 115 mph ( 185 km / h ) winds for about 36 hours it slowly weakened . on july 27 after entering an area of progressively cooler waters , fico weakened to a tropical storm while located about 35 miles ( 60 km ) east - northeast of midway island . it weakened to a tropical depression the next day , and late on july 28 after turning to the north fico became an extratropical depression . an approaching cold front absorbed the remnants of fico and passed near southern alaska on july 31 . ships to the southeast of cold bay reported heavy rainfall and strong winds in association with the remnants of fico . impact hurricane fico never made landfall , though a strong east - northeasterly swell from the hurricane along with a strong southerly swell from a southern hemisphere storm produced high surf along the coastline of hawaii . civil defense officials reported 30 - foot ( 9 . 1 m ) waves well offshore . the island of hawaii received breaking waves of 20 feet ( 6 m ) in height , and eastern maui reported up to 12 - foot ( 3 . 7 m ) waves . southern oahu and kauai also reported slightly above normal waves . several ships in and around the periphery of the hurricane received moderate winds and rough surf , one of which reported swell waves of 41 feet ( 12 . 5 m ) . the high seas washed a 65 - foot ( 20 m ) tugboat ashore on a reef at . six people aboard a sloop off hanalei were rescued by a navy torpedo boat after it lost its auxiliary power and was unable to progress in the strong winds of fico . a strong trade wind gradient , increased due to the presence of the hurricane , produced winds of over 60 mph ( 95 km / h ) throughout the island chain . hurricane fico also dropped 6 inches ( 150 mm ) of rainfall in oahu . days before the hurricane passed to the south of the state , high surf from fico caused some beach flooding in the eastern portion of the island of hawaii . high surf later resulted in considerable damage to roads and beachfront houses along the big island shores . the waves destroyed a home in puna and wrecked a beach pavilion in kau . the mayors of three hawaiian cities issued a disaster declaration for their cities following the damage from fico . in maui , moderate waves led to road flooding near the water , though no damage occurred on the island . 60 mph ( 95 km / h ) winds throughout hawaii downed trees , resulting in some power outages . damage from the hurricane totaled $ 200 , 000 ( 1978 usd , $ 619 , 000 2006 usd ) . records and naming fico was a northeast pacific tropical cyclone for 20 days or 468 hours , breaking the previous record since the beginning of reliable satellite monitoring set by hurricane celeste of 1972 with 16 days . fico was also a hurricane for 17 days , which also broke the record set by celeste of 1972 with 10 days . both records were later broken by hurricane tina . fico also tracked about 6 , 000 miles ( 9 , 700 km ) , among the longest tracks on record for a pacific hurricane . this hurricane was the only usage of the name fico . the name fico was removed after this storm and replaced with fabio in the 1982 season . it is unknown whether it was retired due to its damage or for another reason . other possible reasons listed for the removal of a name are pronunciation ambiguity , a socially unacceptable meaning in another language , or because the storm name represented a significant human disaster .