Published: July 21,2015
And while it's not all that uncommon for tropical moisture to make it to California, many have been asking: could a hurricane make landfall on the West Coast?
History shows a hurricane landfall is possible, but if it happened, it would be in Southern California. On Oct. 2, 1858, a hurricane came ashore and caused widespread damage in San Diego. That unnamed hurricane was the last, and only, example on record of a hurricane coming ashore on the West Coast.
(MORE: The 10 Most Forgotten Hurricanes)
"Southern California is the only portion of the Pacific coastline in the Lower 48 that could see a tropical storm or hurricane landfall from the eastern Pacific," said weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce.
Hurricanes are so unlikely in this region of the country, Dolce says, because a hurricane would have to be moving fast enough over warm waters to stay together and maintain intensity all the way to the coast. It's an extremely rare occurrence – one that hasn't happened in more than 150 years.
Although these tropical systems nearly always fall apart on their way to the shore, a NASA report reminds us that they can remain dangerous systems and pose a threat to life and property regardless of their tropical status and intensity.
"The primary threat from California tropical cyclones isn't winds or storm surge. It's rainfall – sometimes torrential – which has led to flooding, damage and, occasionally, casualties," said the report.
MORE: Satellite Images of Hurricanes
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