Why tropical weather is so rare in Southern California
Southern California rarely sees tropical weather. However, every now and again we get some remnants of a tropical storm, bringing plenty of rain. What's even rarer though, is a tropical storm making a direct landfall in California.
Since records began, there have been two tropical storms which made landfall in California. They are the 1939 Long Beach Tropical Storm and Tropical Strom Nora in 1997. Below you can see a picture of the path TS Nora took as it moved through California. This storm brought nearly two inches of rain to areas here in the valley and over two inches of rain in both Banning and Blythe.
The main fuel source for tropical cyclones is warm ocean waters. Tropical storms and hurricanes need waters of at least 80°F. However, waters off the coast of California are normally in the 60s, if not colder. Once a storm moves out of warm waters, it very quickly begins to weaken. This, along with prevailing atmospheric patterns normally pushing storms to the west, explains why its so rare for storms like there to impact California.
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