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An Arizona hurricane is a tropical cyclone originating 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 and the remaining moisture affects the state. However, a few storms have crossed into Arizona still with tropical storm strength.
Tropical storms in Arizona are infrequent, since the predominant storm track carries most storms that form in the Eastern Pacific 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, with only 6% of all Pacific hurricanes entering US territory. However, Arizona still can expect experiencing the effects of tropical cyclones once every five years, in average. Many, but not all, of these systems also impacted California.
Storms
Tropical storms are one of Arizona's main sources of rainfall, and they infuse the monsoon over the southwestern United States. 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.
| Storm | Peak intensity | Season | Intensity at landfall | Date of landfall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed | Unknown | 1935 | Tropical storm | August 22, 1935 |
| Unnamed | Tropical Stormhttp://www.nhc.noaa.gov/tracks1949to2004_epa.txt | 1951 | Tropical storm | August 3, 1951 |
| Unnamed | Category 1 | 1957 | Category 1 | October 5, 1957 |
| Unnamed | Category 1 | 1956 | Category 1 | October 6, 1958 |
| Claudia | Tropical Storm | 1962 | Tropical storm | September 25, 1962 |
| Emily | Category 1 | 1965 | Tropical depression | September 6, 1965 |
| Katrina | Category 1 | 1967 | Category 1 | August 29, 1967 |
| Hyacinth | Tropical Storm | 1968 | Tropical depression | August 20, 1968 |
| Norma | Tropical Storm | 1970 | Tropical storm | September 4, 1970 |
| Joanne | Category 2 | 1972 | Tropical storm | October 4, 1972 |
| Kathleen | Category 1 | 1976 | Tropical storm | September 10, 1976 |
| Doreen | Category 1 | 1977 | Tropical storm | August 13, 1977 |
| Heather | Category 1 | 1977 | Tropical depression | October 4, 1977 |
| Octave | Tropical Storm | 1983 | Tropical storm | September 28, 1983 |
| Raymond | Category 3 | 1989 | Tropical depression | October 5, 1985 |
| Lester | Category 1August 22, 1992 | |||
| Ismael | Category 1 | 1995 | Remnant low | September 15, 1995 |
| Nora | Category 4 | 1997 | Tropical storm | September 25, 1997 |
| Marty | Category 2 | 2003 | Remnant low | September 22, 2003 |
Deadly systems
Several of these tropical cyclones have caused deaths or heavy property damage, usually due to flooding caused by rain.
In August of 1935, the remnants of an unnamed tropical storm that landed on Southern California caused torrential rain 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.
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 entrapped in a large extratropical low. The resulting rainfall caused flooding that killed 23 people and significant damage. Two years later, the remnants of Hurricane Joanne caused flooding that caused $10 million (1972 USD) in property damage and eight deaths.
On September 11 1976, Hurricane Kathleen killed a man when a gust of wind blew a palm tree down onto his mobile home. Severe flooding and hailstorms also resulted.
A weather system, including moisture from Tropical Storm Octave, caused torrential rains over a ten-day period. Fourteen people drowned, 975 were injured, and roughly 10,000 people were left homeless after the flooding ended. The amount of damage from the disaster was put at 370 million (year unknown) USD.
See also
- List of notable Pacific hurricanes
- List of Pacific hurricane seasons
- List of California tropical storms
References
Arizona hurricanes | Lists of tropical cyclones | Pacific hurricanes
"List of Arizona hurricanes"