Hurricane Patricia - the biggest ever

Not so much - from British Columbia, CA newspaper The Province:

Tom Harris and Tim Ball: Patricia was nowhere near the worst tropical storm
We were told that Hurricane Patricia was the strongest event of its kind in history. A quick look at the record books reveals that this isn’t true.

Hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons are just different tomharris150 Tom Harris and Tim Ball: Patricia was nowhere near the worst tropical stormnames for the same weather phenomenon — intense tropical cyclones, or TCs. The only difference between them is their locations. In the Atlantic and Northeast Pacific, we refer to them as hurricanes. In the Northwest Pacific they are called typhoons. In the South Pacific and Indian Ocean, people call them cyclones.

So how did Patricia compare with other severe TCs on record?

The most intense TC, as defined by how low the central pressure became, was Typhoon Tip in 1979 in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. Tip reached a low of 870 millibars while Patricia never dropped below 879 millibars.

The most intense TC, as defined by maximum sustained surface wind speed, was Typhoon Nancy in the Northwest Pacific Ocean in 1961. Nancy attained 344 km/h. Six TCs between 1959 and 1997 exceeded 304 km/h. According to The Weather Channel, Patricia’s maximum sustained wind speed at landfall timball150 Tom Harris and Tim Ball: Patricia was nowhere near the worst tropical stormwas estimated at 264 km/h and an automated weather observation site in Cuixmala on the west coast of Mexico reported 296 km/h.

Patricia’s supposed 320 km/h wind speed over the ocean was not actually measured. It was merely predicted by computer models based on the measured speeds thousands of feet above the surface. The evidence that it was exaggerated is the rapidity with which the winds supposedly diminished after the storm reached land, where it could be measured.

Patricia did not even set a record for gusts. Cyclone Olivia gusted to 405 km/h at Barrow Island, Australia in 1996. Patricia gusted to 338 km/h.

Those pesky numbers again - worst ever? No. More at the link including damage reports (minimal), fatalities (at most six depending on the report you read)