List of California hurricanes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A California hurricane is a tropical cyclone that affects the state of California. Usually, only the remnants of tropical cyclones affect California. No hurricane has ever made landfall in California in recorded history. Two tropical storms have hit California, one by direct landfall from offshore, another after making landfall in Mexico.

Since 1900, only four tropical cyclones have brought gale-force winds to the Southwestern United States. They are an unnamed tropical storm that made landfall near San Pedro in 1939, the remnants of Hurricane Joanne in 1972, the remnants of Hurricane Kathleen in 1976, and Hurricane Nora in 1997 which entered California as a tropical storm. In addition, a recently-discovered and reconstructed hurricane just missed making landfall in 1858.

In most cases, rainfall is the only effect that these cyclones have on California. Sometimes, this rainfall is severe enough to cause flooding and damage. For example, floods from Hurricane Kathleen devastated Ocotillo, California and killed several people. Precipitation other than rainfall is unusual[1] in tropical cyclones because of their weak updrafts and lack of supercooled water.[2]

The remnants of Hurricane Nora over the south-western United States
The remnants of Hurricane Nora over the south-western United States

Contents

[edit] An improbable event

There are two reasons why hurricanes do not strike California: sea surface temperatures, and the usual upper level steering winds in the eastern Pacific, with sea surface temperature being the most important.

Tropical cyclones usually require very warm water to depth, generally above 26.5 °C (80 °F) extending to a depth of 50 metres (160 ft).[3]

The waters off California are cold even in summer. They rarely rise above 24 °C (75 °F) in near-shore southern California,[4] and usually don't get above 17 °C (63 °F) along most of the rest of the coast and outer coastal waters, although El Niño events may warm the waters somewhat. This is due primarily to the extensive upwelling of colder sub-surface waters caused by the prevailing northwesterly winds acting through the Ekman Effect. The winds drive surface water to the right of the wind flow, that is offshore, which draws water up from below to replace it. The upwelling further cools the already cool California Current which runs north to south along coastal California and even much of coastal Baja California. This is the same mechanism which produces coastal California's characteristic fog.

The second reason is the general path of tropical cyclones in the eastern Pacific. They generally move north-westward or westward due to steering by the prevailing upper level winds, which takes them far out to sea and away from land.[4]

These factors make eastern Pacific landfalls improbable north of about central Baja California. In those instances when upper level steering winds do allow a more northerly path, much cooler sea surface temperatures quickly weaken tropical cyclones that approach California, although torrential rainfall can still occur. For example, the September 24-hour rainfall record for Los Angeles is held by the 1939 Long Beach Tropical Storm, as of January 2007.[5]

[edit] List of cyclones

Most of these cyclones are mainly the remnants of hurricanes or tropical storms. In the twentieth century, only four eastern Pacific tropical cyclones have brought tropical storm-force winds to the Continental United States: the 1939 Long Beach Tropical Storm, Tropical Storm Joanne in 1972, Tropical Storm Kathleen in 1976, and Tropical Storm Nora in 1997.[6]

[edit] Pre 1930

[edit] 1930s

  • September 28-October 1, 1932: The remnants of a hurricane brought four days of rain. Flash floods killed 15 people.[9]
  • August 25, 1935: A cyclone moved from the south and brought rain to southern California and parts of Arizona.[9]
  • August 9, 1936: A hurricane's remnants moving north brought heavy rains to the Los Angeles area.[9]
  • September 4-September 7, 1939: The remnants of a hurricane brought over a year's worth of rain to parts of southern California.[9]
  • September 11-September 12, 1939: The remnants of a hurricane in the Gulf of California brought rain.[9]
  • September 19-September 21, 1939: A dissipated cyclone brought rain.[9]
  • September 25, 1939: The 1939 California tropical storm made landfall near Long Beach.[9] Winds were near 80 km/h (50 mph) and rain was near 12 inches (300 mm). At sea, 48 people were killed. On land, 45 were killed in flooding, although these deaths may be partially attributable to a nasty thunderstorm immediately preceding the tropical storm.[5] This is the only known landfall by a cyclone at tropical storm strength in the twentieth century.[9]

[edit] 1940s

[edit] 1950s

[edit] 1960s

[edit] 1970s

Hurricane Heather on October 5, 1977
Hurricane Heather on October 5, 1977

[edit] 1980s

[edit] 1990s

Hurricane Linda on September 12, 1997
Hurricane Linda on September 12, 1997

[edit] 2000s

  • September 2001: Remnant moisture from Hurricane Flossie caused thunderstorms, lightning, and floods in Southern California. Lightning struck four people, killing two of them.[26]
  • September 30, 2001: Thunderstorms from the remnants of Hurricane Juliette caused minor damage to California[27] and brought rain of less than an inch (25 mm) to the area.[13]
  • September 2006: Remnants of Hurricane John triggered flash flood watches.[28]

[edit] Climatological statistics

Most tropical cyclones impacting California do so in the month of September. September 1939 was "unprecedented" in having four tropical cyclones impact the state.[29]

Month Number of recorded storms
affecting California
January 0
February 0
March 0
April 0
May 0
June 2
July 3
August 11
September 32
October 6
November 0
December 0

Period Number of recorded storms
impacting California
Pre–1930 11
1930s 7
1940s 3
1950s 5
1960s 3
1970s 7
1980s 9
1990s 7
2000–2007 3

[edit] Deadliest storms

The following is a list of all known tropical cyclone-related deaths in California.

Name Year Number of deaths
Unnamed 1939 45–93
Unnamed 1932 15
Kathleen 1976 3–6
Nora 1997 3–4
Flossie 2001 2
Guillermo 1997 1

[edit] Modern repeats

While rare, tropical cyclones do affect California, occasionally very seriously as far as rainfall is concerned.

[edit] Damage

Map of warning breakpoints
Map of warning breakpoints

A modern repeat of the 1858 storm is estimated to cause damages of hundreds of millions of dollars.[6] A repeat of the 1939 tropical storm would cause around 200 million dollars in damage.[6] The most serious damage would be due to rains rather than winds or storm surge, although distant hurricanes may still create heavy surf,[24] possibly injuring or killing people. Nora caused millions in damage and skirted extreme southeastern California.

[edit] Preparedness

When Linda was forecast to make landfall, statements about its possible impact were issued by the Oxnard, California office of the National Weather Service. They stressed the uncertainty of a forecast that far in the future.

When Nora was threatening, "unprecedented coordination" was required between the NHC and several other agencies. The coordination was "smooth and effective".[25] However, no inland tropical storm warnings were issued for any area in the United States as Nora was approaching from the south.[25]

There are five Pacific Coast breakpoints in the United States. They are, from north to south, Point Conception, Point Mugu, the mouth of the San Gabriel River, San Mateo Point, and the mouth of the Tijuana River, although places outside this area can be selected if conditions warrant.[30] Should there be the threat of landfall, warnings or watches would be issued for those sections of coast. It is highly unlikely that any tropical cyclone will threaten the Central Coast or farther north, due to the stronger influence of the California Current.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ed Rappaport (1996-01-17). Preliminary Report Hurricane Marilyn. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
  2. ^ Chris Landsea. Subject: C5a) Why don't we try to destroy tropical cyclones by seeding them with silver iodide?. FAQ. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
  3. ^ Christopher Landsea. Subject: A16) Why do tropical cyclones require 80 °F (26.5 °C) ocean temperatures to form ?. Tropical Cyclone FAQ. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  4. ^ a b Christopher Landsea. Subject: G8) Why do hurricanes hit the East coast of the U.S., but never the West coast?. Tropical Cyclone FAQ. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  5. ^ a b A History of Significant Weather Events in Southern California (PDF) 10. NOAA (January 2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Christopher Landsea & Michael Chenoweth (November 2004). The San Diego Hurricane of 2 October 1858 (PDF). Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 1689. American Meteorological Society. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  7. ^ a b Stephen S. Visher (June 1922). Tropical Cyclones in the Northeast Pacific, Between Hawaii and Mexico (PDF). Monthly Weather Review 296. American Meteorological Society. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  8. ^ A History of Significant Weather Events in Southern California (PDF) 3. NOAA (January 2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an Jack Williams. "California's Tropical Cyclones", USA Today, 2005-05-17. Retrieved on 2007-12-26. 
  10. ^ Tropical Storm Jen-Kath (GIF). Unisys. Retrieved on 2007-12-29.
  11. ^ Hurricane HYACINTH (GIF). Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  12. ^ A History of Significant Weather Events in Southern California (PDF) 16. NOAA (January 2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  13. ^ a b Tropical Cyclone Point Maxima. Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (2007-12-24). Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  14. ^ Hurricane Heather - October 5-8, 1977
  15. ^ Hurricane NORMAN (GIF). Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  16. ^ a b A History of Significant Weather Events in Southern California (PDF) 21. NOAA (January 2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  17. ^ Gil Clark (1989-11-09). Preliminary Report Hurricane Octave (file 2) (GIF). National Hurricane Center. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  18. ^ Max Mayfield. Preliminary Report Hurricane Boris 9 (file 2) (GIF). Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
  19. ^ Remains of Boris (GIF). Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  20. ^ Max Mayfield (1992-08-09). Preliminary Report Hurricane Darby (file 3) (GIF). National Hurricane Center. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  21. ^ Hurricane Lester (GIF). Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  22. ^ Event Record Details. National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  23. ^ Remains of Ignacio. Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  24. ^ a b c Max Mayfield (1997-10-25). Preliminary Report Hurricane Linda. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  25. ^ a b c Edward Rappaport (1997-10-30). Preliminary Report Hurricane Nora. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  26. ^ Stacy R. Stewart (2001-10-27). Tropical Cyclone Report Hurricane Flossie. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  27. ^ Miles B. Lawrence & Michelle Mainelli (2001-11-30). Tropical Cyclone Report Hurricane Juliette. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  28. ^ National Weather Service San Diego (2006-09-04). September 4, 2006 NWS San Diego Flash Flood Watch. NWS, archived at Wikisource. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  29. ^ A History of Significant Weather Events in Southern California (PDF) 9. NOAA (January 2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  30. ^ Hurricane and Tropical Storm Watch/Warning Breakpoints. National Hurricane Center (2007-06-01). Retrieved on 2007-12-27.

[edit] External links

Languages