A tropical storm made landfall in 1939 so why is one issued because of Hurricane Hilary the first tropical storm watch ever for California? Our expert explains.
Earlier today, Hurricane Watches and Warnings were issued for much of the Baja Peninsula region of Mexico. A Tropical Storm Watch has also been issued for southern California. It is the first time ever that the National Hurricane Center has issued a tropical storm watch for the state of California. The tropics are active, but I am certain most people did not have a hurricane approaching California on their bingo card. Hurricane Hilary reached major category status earlier today and is moving northward. In a previous Forbes.com article, I discuss the details of the hurricane from a meteorological perspective. Herein, I put on my climatological hat.
This may be confusing to some people because the 1939 Tropical Storm did make landfall in California. Professor Cary Mock is a geographer and climatologist at the University of South Carolina. He specializes in climatological reconstruction of past tropical hazards.
