The 1939 Pacific hurricane season ran through the summer and fall of 1939. Before the

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

age started in the 1960s, data on east Pacific hurricanes was extremely unreliable. Most east Pacific storms were of no threat to land. However, 1939 saw a large number of storms threaten

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Systems

Hurricane One

On June 12, a hurricane was detected. The lowest pressure reported by a ship was . The hurricane was last seen June 13.

Possible Tropical Cyclone Two

A possible tropical cyclone was located off the coast of Mexico on June 27. A ship reported a gale and a pressure of . The system was last seen on June 28.

Tropical Cyclone Three

On July 19, a tropical cyclone was detected. A ship reported a pressure of .

Tropical Cyclone Four

On July 29, a tropical cyclone was located midway between Manzanillo and

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

. It moved up the coast, and a ship reported a pressure of on July 29 as the cyclone made landfall in the vicinity of Manzanillo.

Tropical Cyclone Five

A small tropical cyclone was detected on August 31. A ship reported gales and a pressure of .

Hurricane Six

A storm developed southwest of

Cabo San Lucas Cabo San Lucas (, "Luke the Evangelist, Saint Luke Cape (geography), Cape"), also known simply as Cabo, is a Resort town, resort city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, in the Mexican Political divisions of Mexico, state of Baja ...

on September 4 and paralleled the western coast of the Baja California Peninsula for two days, eventually curving northeast into the northern Baja California on September 6. From September 4 to 7, moisture from the storm and its remnants brought heavy rain to Southern California. The storm delivered over a year's worth of rainfall to Blythe, while Imperial received more than two years' worth. The flooding caused major damage in

Mecca, California Mecca is an unincorporated community located in Riverside County, California, United States. The desert community lies on the north shore of the Salton Sea in the Eastern Coachella Valley and is surrounded by agricultural land. Geography and cli ...

, and of water swamped

Thermal A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...

. Unusually heavy rains spread across the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

Valley to western

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

ahead of an approaching

shortwave trough A shortwave or shortwave trough is an embedded kink in the trough / ridge pattern. Its length scale is much smaller than that of and is embedded within longwaves, which are responsible for the largest scale (synoptic scale) weather systems. Sho ...

, with a maximum of falling in Truxton, Arizona. Across the state, seven stations set 24-hour rainfall records between September 4–6, while the storm's rains would contribute to the rainiest September at 38 stations.

Hurricane Seven

A tropical cyclone was first detected south of Acapulco on September 5. It intensified into a hurricane and moved northwestward. A ship sailing through the eye reported a pressure reading of . The tropical cyclone made landfall somewhere along the Baja California Peninsula. It dissipated inland over the northern part of the peninsula on September 12. Remnants of this tropical storm, in association with a

trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...

, caused rain of up to in southern California on September 11 and 12.

Tropical Cyclone Eight

On September 5, a tropical cyclone formed off the coast of Costa Rica. It also headed northwest and dissipated over the southern part of Baja California on September 15. The lowest reported pressure was . From September 19 to 21, remnants of this tropical cyclone caused rain measuring up to in Southern California.

Hurricane Nine

On September 14, a tropical cyclone formed off the coast of Central America. This tropical storm tracked northwestward and intensified into a hurricane. The sea-level pressure dropped to or lower. The hurricane recurved gradually to the northeast and weakened over cool seas. On September 25, this tropical storm made landfall near

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, and dissipated inland. The tropical storm caught Southern Californians unprepared. It brought heavy rain and flooding to the area, which killed 45 people. At sea, 48 were killed. The storm caused heavy property damage amounting to $2 million (1939

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

) in total, mostly to crops and coastal infrastructure.

Hurricane Ten

On October 23, a tropical cyclone formed south of

Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco Cabo Corrientes is a cape on the Pacific coast of the Mexican state of Jalisco. It marks the southernmost point of the Bahía de Banderas (Bay of Flags), upon which the port and resort city of Puerto Vallarta stands. The municipality in which th ...

. It intensified and headed roughly due north. A steamer, the ''Nevadan'', caught in the eye of this extremely intense hurricane, recording a corrected central pressure of 930 mbar (hPa; 27.46 inHg). Even with modern

tropical cyclone observation Tropical cyclone observation has been carried out over the past couple of centuries in various ways. The passage of typhoons, hurricanes, as well as other tropical cyclones have been detected by word of mouth from sailors recently coming to port ...

techniques available, this reading still qualifies this cyclone as one of the most intense on record and would likely have made it a Category 4 or 5 hurricane. The steep pressure gradient between the Nevadan and the external hurricane conditions off of Manzanillo, Colima caused several tarpaulins to burst. Other shipping was disrupted off the Mexican coast by the intense tropical cyclone. The hurricane made landfall near Cabo Corrientes on October 25 and dissipated shortly thereafter. Onshore, the storm caused an extensive swath of damage. Homes were destroyed in the towns of

Santiago Ixcuintla Santiago de Ixcuintla is a municipality and a municipal seat in the western Mexico, Mexican state of Nayarit. The municipal population was 93,981 inhabitants (census of 2020) with the municipal seat having a population of 25,241. The area of the ...

and

Rosamorada Rosamorada () is a municipality of the state of Nayarit in Mexico. It is located in the middle of the state. The area of the municipality is 2,073 km2 and the population was 32,217 in 2005, showing a significant decrease from 1980 when it was 34, ...

in the Mexican state of

Nayarit Nayarit, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in Municipalities of Nayarit, 20 municipalit ...

, displacing hundreds of people. In

Puerto Vallarta Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican resort city near the Bahía de Banderas on the Pacific coast of the Mexico, Mexican state of Jalisco. Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadalajara ...

, a strong

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

flooded a section of the town, destroying several homes.

Tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

, and

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

crops in the region suffered considerable damage. The strong winds downed

power line An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and Electric power distribution, distribution to transmit electrical energy along large distances. It consists of one or more electrical conductor, conductors (commonly mu ...

s, resulting in the delayed dissemination of damage reports. Although no exact casualty total was documented, reports indicated that the tropical cyclone caused a "few casualties". After the storm, US$6,000 was donated to help aid the displaced in the states of Nayarit and

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

, while doctors and nurses were sent to those areas.

References

{{Good article 1939 in California Pacific hurricane seasons 1930s Pacific hurricane seasons