It is no secret that Southern California is not known for its hurricanes. In fact, the area has only been hit by an intact hurricane once in recorded history. On October 2, 1858, a Category 1 storm with 80 mph winds approached San Diego and brought several hours of hurricane-force winds to an area stretching from San Diego to Los Angeles. The only other cyclone to make landfall in California in the 20th century was classified as a simple tropical storm and occurred in 1939. For a time, meteorologists doubted that a real hurricane (a cyclone with sustained winds of at least 64 knots or 74 mph) could ever reach the Southland.
However, recent research from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has revealed evidence that such storms are a real (albeit statistically unlikely) threat.
