High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The 1961 Pacific hurricane season was an event in meteorology. It officially started on May 15, 1961 in the eastern Pacific and lasted until November 30, 1961. Eleven tropical cyclones, 10 named storms (Madeline was operationally considered a tropical storm) and two hurricanes formed during the 1961 season, none of the hurricanes reached beyond category 1 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.