List of Arizona hurricanes
An Arizona hurricane is a tropical cyclone forming in the eastern Pacific Ocean that affects the state of Arizona in the United States. Usually, the storm makes landfall in the Mexican states of Baja California or Sonora, with the remaining moisture normally having mild rainfall effects on the state. However, a few storms have crossed into Arizona while they still had tropical storm strength.
Tropical storms in Arizona are rare and don't happen very frequently, because the normal storms that form in the eastern Pacific Ocean move either parallel or away from the Pacific coast of northwestern Mexico. As a result, most storms that could affect Arizona are carried away from the United States, and only 6% of all Pacific hurricanes enter US territory.[1] In average, Arizona can expect experiencing the effects of tropical cyclones once every five years.[1] Many, but not all, of these systems also affected California.
List of Arizona hurricanes
Tropical storms are one of Arizona's main sources of rainfall, and they infuse the monsoon over the southwestern United States.[2] However, all of the storms that have impacted Arizona have formed in the latter parts of the Pacific hurricane season, and no storm has affected the state before August.[1]
| Storm | Peak intensity | Season | Intensity at landfall | Date of landfall [3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed[4] | Unknown | 1935 | Tropical storm | August 22, 1935 |
| Unnamed[5] | Tropical Storm[6] | 1951 | Tropical storm | August 3, 1951 |
| Unnamed[5] | Category 1[6] | 1957 | Category 1 | October 5, 1957 |
| Unnamed[5] | Category 1[6] | 1956 | Category 1 | October 6, 1958 |
| Claudia[3] | Tropical Storm | 1962 | Tropical storm | September 25, 1962 |
| Emily[5] | Category 1[6] | 1965 | Tropical depression | September 6, 1965 |
| Katrina[3] | Category 1[6] | 1967 | Category 1 | August 29, 1967 |
| Hyacinth[5] | Tropical Storm[6] | 1968 | Tropical depression | August 20, 1968 |
| Norma[3] | Tropical Storm | 1970 | Tropical storm | September 4, 1970 |
| Joanne[3] | Category 2 | 1972 | Tropical storm | October 4, 1972 |
| Kathleen[3] | Category 1 | 1976 | Tropical storm | September 10, 1976 |
| Doreen[3] | Category 1 | 1977 | Tropical storm | August 13, 1977 |
| Heather[3] | Category 1 | 1977 | Tropical depression | October 4, 1977 |
| Octave[3] | Tropical Storm | 1983 | Tropical storm | September 28, 1983 |
| Raymond[5] | Category 3[6] | 1989 | Tropical depression | October 5, 1989 |
| Lester[5] | Category 1[7] | 1992 | Tropical storm | August 22, 1992 |
| Ismael[5] | Category 1[6] | 1995 | Remnant low | September 15, 1995 |
| Nora[3] | Category 4 | 1997 | Tropical storm | September 25, 1997 |
| Marty[5] | Category 2[6] | 2003 | Remnant low | September 22, 2003 |
| John | Category 4 | 2006 | Category 2 | September 1, 2006 |
Deadly storms
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Some of these tropical cyclones have caused deaths or a lot of property damage, usually because of flooding created by rain.
In August of 1935, the remnants of an unnamed tropical storm that landed on southern California causing heavy rains and flooding across Arizona, especially along the Santa Cruz River and Rillito Creek on Southern Arizona. The rainfall due to the storm still holds the record rainfall at the National Weather Service office in Tucson.[4]
In September of 1970, the remnants of Tropical Storm Norma became Arizona's deadliest storm when they contributed to the disaster known as the "Labor Day storm of 1970". As Norma dissipated, moisture from the cyclone was captured in a large extratropical low. The resulting rainfall created deadly floods that killed 23 people and caused huge damages.[3] Two years later, the remnants of Hurricane Joanne caused flooding that created damages up to $10 million (1972 USD) and eight deaths.[2]
On September 11, 1976, Hurricane Kathleen killed a man when a gust of wind blew a palm tree down onto his mobile home. Strong flooding and hailstorms also resulted.[3]
A weather system, including moisture from Tropical Storm Octave, caused heavy rains over a ten-day period. Fourteen people drowned, 975 were injured, and roughly 10,000 people were left homeless when the flooding ended. The amount of damage from the disaster was put at 370 million (year unknown) USD.[3]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Corbosiero, Kristen L. (2003). "The Contribution of Eastern North Pacific Tropical Cyclones to the Warm Season Rainfall Climatology of the Southwestern United States". University of Albany. Retrieved March 20, 2006.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 United States Geological Survey (2005). "Hydrologic Conditions in Arizona During 1999–2004: A Historical Perspective" (PDF). Retrieved March 20, 2006.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|year=(help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 National Weather Service, Phoenix Regional Office. "Top Arizona Hurricane/Tropical Storm Events". Retrieved March 19, 2006.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "Santa Cruz River, Paseo de las Iglesias (Pima County, Arizona) Final Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement" (PDF). USACE. Retrieved March 20, 2006.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 Coastal Services Center. "Historical Hurricane Tracks". NOAA. Retrieved March 20, 2006.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/tracks1949to2004_epa.txt
- ↑ National Hurricane Center "Preliminary Report: Hurricane Lester" (GIF). 1992. Retrieved March 20, 2006.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link)
