List of Arizona hurricanes facts for kids

The remnants of Hurricane Nora over the Southwestern United States.

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.

It is extremely difficult for a hurricane to form in Arizona 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. In average, Arizona experiences the effects of tropical cyclones once every five years. Many, but not all, of these systems also affected California.

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.

Deadly storms

Tropical Storm Octave.

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.

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. Two years later, the remnants of Hurricane Joanne caused flooding that created damages up to $10 million (1972 USD) 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. Strong flooding and hailstorms also resulted.

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.

Images for kids

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  The rainfall produced by Hurricane Heather was concentrated along the United States–Mexico border.

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  Rainfall due to Tropical Storm Octave throughout its track

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  Hurricane Javier produced heavy precipitation in Arizona.