I read this short article this morning summarizing the evolution of the So. Cal Hurricane of 1939 and it's impact on the area of Laguna Beach. Sounds
like one hell of an El Nino year!
September 28, 2012
By Dennis McTighe
Spinning back to Sept 1939
The wildest week of weather here - ever
The week of September 19-25, 1939 was arguably the wildest week of weather extremes that Laguna and the rest of Southern California has ever seen.
From record breaking heat to record breaking wind, rain, and surf, we had it all during that wild and wooly seven day period.
On September 19, Southern California was seeing record high temps, readings in many communities that still stand to this day, with a whopping 119
degrees in Santa Ana and an all time high of 107 degrees at water’s edge here in Laguna!
Meanwhile, totally unbeknownst to us lay a powerful hurricane about 900 miles south of the tip of Baja. Out in the open ocean, it appears harmless as
it is plowing to the west at a brisk 20 MPH away from any landmasses.
The next day, Sept. 20, it has been discovered that the monster spinner has taken on a more northwesterly course and has attained Category 5 status.
Here at home the intense heat continues and surface ocean temps locally have climbed to near 80 degrees.
On the morning of Sept. 21, the hurricane, still a Category 5, is situated about 600 miles southwest of the tip of Baja and now pushing to the NNW
sending huge swells ahead of its swirling mass. By that evening the big waves begin to assault our shores. The air is hot and still at sunset with the
temp still in the 90’s. The surf is now 10-15 feet and increasing in size with every set. At midnight it is still 85 degrees with a water temp at 80
degrees.
The next morning dawns hot and clear as the surf has now ramped up to 15-18 feet. The storm has now moved to 550 miles west of Baja’s tip and is
plowing to the north, now taking aim at Southern California, still a strong Category 4 with winds of 145-150 MPH. Normally when a tropical system
reaches this point it runs into colder water and weakens. That was not the case this year as a powerful El Niño was in the water so 80 degree plus
water extended all the way to Point Conception. As long as a system has 80 degree water to work with it holds together.
By Sept. 23 the hurricane, now a Category 2 was centered only 500 miles to our south and moving to the north at 15 MPH. Its waves were now pushing 20
feet as bands of high and mid level clouds began to stream in from the south. It was still hot and the humidity started to rise. It was hot and still
with not a breath of wind. The barometer began to fall. By the evening of Sept. 24, the storm, now a Category 1 was located only 150 miles to our
south as the barometer had sunk to 995 millibars.
On the morning of Sept. 25, all hell broke loose as the system, still a high scale tropical storm, unleashed its fury as its center actually passed
between Laguna and Avalon. Winds up to 70 MPH toppled trees, and the power went out.
Torrential rain up to 7 inches fell along with 20-25 foot storm waves, which completely dismantled the pier which had been built back in 1915 that had
withstood 24 years of storms and swells but not this one and the structure was reduced to match sticks in a matter of hours. The storm made landfall
near San Pedro later that morning.
What a week! I wish I had a time machine to travel back to that wild week to be part of it!
See you Tuesday, ALOHA!Fang - 9-28-2012 at 11:00 AM
I remember that storm very well!
My Mom,Dad, Brother & sister and I had gone to Ventura for the weekend to escape the oppressive heat at our home in Los Angeles.
My Dad's aunt owned & operated a hotel in Ventura & we often spent weekends with her.
I remember we left for home earlier then usual as we were hearing weather reports on the radio that a large "rainstorm" pelting LA was expected to get
larger. There was already rain in Ventura.
We all piled into my Dad's 1934 Ford Victoria and started south down the old Pacific Coast Hwy. By the time the highway turned inland at Oxnard there
was no doubt this was a storm to be reckoned with. The windshield wipers could not keep up with the huge amount of rain that was falling &
increasing in intensity every minute. I was pulled out of the back seat & place on my Mom's lap so I could keep watch on where the right shoulder
of the hiway was in relation to our car. The wind off the ocean was pushing the rain almost sideways and the wipers were straining hard.
By the time we reached Malibu it was totally dark except for the lightening strikes that seemed to be hitting every few seconds. All power to homes,
businesses and street lights was out. There was an intersection on PCH & the road chat cuts inland at Malibu. I can't recall it's name, but as
we approached it there was a CHP officer hunkered down on the inland side of his unit, parked in the middle of the intersection and anchored to the
units door by a rope to keep him from blowing away! He waved us to a stop & told us it was unsafe to proceed south, but also that the road inland
had been closed by mudslides.
My Dad opted to continue south on PCH. Gigantic waves were breaking all along the shoreline & the waters actually pushing the car about a bit.
But it was the wind that was causing us the most concern. At times my Dad had the old Ford floor-boarded and we were moving at less then 15-20 MPH.
Between Malibu & Santa Monica we saw very few cars moving in either direction.
What we did see is a sight I can't forget. My Mom yelled over the roar of the wind and waves to my Dad asking "What's that?" while pointing seaward.
"That" turned out to be a very large offshore fishing barge that had been ripped lose from it's anchorage & was now being lifted skyward by yet
another huge wave that was going to break on PCH a couple of hundred feet in front of us. It did & turned the barge into firewood.
The rest of the trip home was bad, but not as bad as that leg that put us right along the shoreline fro m Ventura to Santa Monica.
Once we turned inland we started to get a picture of how big a storm it had been. Trees, billboards and power poles were down everywhere. Many homes
& business buildings had lost their roofs and signage. It was a mess! Not one stop light was working between Santa Monica & the USC campus
where we lived.
We arrived home at about 11pm to find relatively little damage to our home. A few trees were down with lots of limbs broken & strewn about. Our
roof was still there & all windows were intact.
What would have normally been a 3 -4 hr. drive home had taken well over 7 hrs.
I chalk it up as a real experience. I'm glad I had the opportunity to see & hear it in person, but I would not want to repeat it.durrelllrobert - 9-28-2012 at 11:36 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Fang
I remember that storm very well!
Not to get personal but where you a teenager in 1939 or do you just have a terrific memory?Fang - 9-28-2012 at 11:44 AM
I was 8 years old at the time. It was the kind of event that makes an indelible impression. My brother, who was 2 years younger than I, could
remember parts of that trip up until the day he died.BornFisher - 9-28-2012 at 12:36 PM
Gaucho-- Thanks for the story!
Fang-- Great first person account, doesn`t get any better than that, thanks!!bigmike58 - 9-28-2012 at 03:41 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Fang
I was 8 years old at the time. It was the kind of event that makes an indelible impression. My brother, who was 2 years younger than I, could
remember parts of that trip up until the day he died.
Both accounts are excellent!! but the one thing that stands out the most to me is that someone who has seen so much in their life can still be called
a "newbie", even after being a member for 10 years!! Please Fang, post more stories and lose that moniker!!
