![]() ![]() Sections of Interstate 8 and other roads were washed away. More than 70% of the town of Ocotillo65 miles east of San Diego was buried in sand and mud up to 10 feet deep. Record flooding overwhelmed streams above the Coachella Valley and much of the Imperial Valley was flooded. The remnant of the former Hurricane Kathleen surged north through the Mojave Desert and dumped up to 14.76 inches of rain, a state record for any tropical cyclone or remnant. Southern California's most destructive flooding from a recent former tropical storm or hurricane was in 1976. Winds knocked out power to 125,000 customers and up to 20-foot waves produced tidal flooding at Seal Beach. 1997, the former Hurricane Nora dumped up to 5.5 inches of rain in Southern California, triggering street flooding in San Diego and Palm Springs. The lightning started several devastating wildfires in the region since the storms had little rainfall. In August 2020, moisture from short-lived Tropical Storm Fausto played a role in a rare flareup of lightning in Northern California, including around the Bay Area. There are quite a number of cases in which remnants of former tropical storms and hurricanes have impacted parts of the Golden State, as the National Weather Service office in San Diego documented. Hurricane or tropical storms that attempt to move north into that hostile environment tend to weaken quickly. This cooler water is supplied by the southward-moving ocean current known as the California Current.Īnother reason is subtropical high pressure usually provides dry, sinking, stable air near the West Coast in summer that suppresses thunderstorms needed to maintain tropical storms and hurricanes. (Data: NOAA)Ĭalifornia is usually protected from direct hits by hurricanes and tropical storms because the warm ocean water that these storms feed off of drops off dramatically north of the southern tip of Baja California. Tracks of tropical depressions and tropical storms near Southern California since 1950. However, if high pressure to their north isn't strong enough, they can occasionally curl north, then northeast into mainland Mexico or the Baja Peninsula. ![]() ![]() The majority of Eastern Pacific tropical storms and hurricanes are steered toward the west-northwest by high pressure into open water south of Baja California's southern tip. Where Do Most Eastern Pacific Storms Track? So let's shed some light on California's brushes with tropical systems in the past and explain why they're usually, but not always protected. ( MORE: Kay Forecast | Heat Wave Shatters Records) But impacts including locally heavy rain, some strong wind gusts and high surf will affect much of the Southland, regardless. To be clear, Kay's center will steadily weaken and not directly move into Southern California. This comes to light because Kay has tracked up Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. California is rarely hit by tropical storms, but remnants of former tropical storms and hurricanes have often wrung out flooding rain in parts of the Golden State. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |