2013 Southern California hurricane season



The 2013 Southern California hurricane season was a season in which hurricanes formed in the Pacific waters near Southern California. This was the first year on record with hurricanes forming in the area. Since this hurricane season was in such a small area, the hurricanes in this season were very tiny, no more than 35 miles across.

There were 18 depressions in this season, of which 17 became named storms. 11 became hurricanes, and 5 became major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher). The most notable storms of the season were Jose, Emily, and Michelle. Jose was the strongest and most destructive of the season, reaching C5 strength and affecting San Diego as a TS, San Clemente Island as a C3/C4, Santa Catalina Island as a C5, and Long Beach as a C5. Emily struck San Clemente Island as a C1, Santa Catalina Island as a C4 and Long Beach as a C3. Michelle struck Huntington Beach as a C3 but did not affect anywhere else. Also notable are Gabrielle, Bob, and Nestor. Bob struck Oxnard as a C1 and Gabrielle and Nestor struck Santa Barbara, Gabrielle as a C2 and Nestor as a C1. The rest of the storms were either weak or did not cause much damage.

Season summary
The first storm, Aletta, formed on May 28 but did not affect much land.

After that, 2 storms formed in June, Bob and Claudette. Bob peaked as a C2 and struck Oxnard as a C1, and Claudette was a weak storm that affected San Clemente.

In July, 4 storms, Daniel, Emily, Fabio, and TD 7 formed. The most notable storm in July was Emily, peaking as a C4 and affecting San Clemente Island as a C1, Santa Catalina Island as a C4 and Long Beach as a C3. TD 7 struck San Diego, while Daniel and Fabio didn't affect land.

5 storms formed in August, Gabrielle, Hector, Irene, Jose, and Karen. Jose was the most notable storm of August and the whole season, reaching C5 and causing tons of damage throughout SoCal and the southeastern Channel Islands. Gabrielle was another destructive storm of the month, hitting the northern Channel Islands and Santa Barbara. The rest of the storms were either weak or did not cause much damage.

In September, 3 storms, Lee, Michelle, and Nestor formed. Lee was a weak TS that struck Malibu, Michelle was a destructive storm which struck Huntington Beach as a C3, and Nestor struck the northern Channel Islands as a C2 and Santa Barbara as a C1.

October had 2 storms, Orlene and Peter. Orlene didn't affect much land and Peter was a weak TS that struck Santa Catalina Island.

In November, only 1 storm, Rosa, formed. It didn't affect land. Over all, this season was an active and destructive season.

Tropical Storm Aletta
A depression formed east of San Nicolas Island on May 28. It moved north and strengthened into TS Aletta. Aletta reached its peak of 50 mph while passing very close to Santa Barbara Island. It weakened after that, and dissipated on May 30. Aletta didn't cause any damage.

Hurricane Bob
Bob formed on June 15 at least 40 miles south of San Nicolas Island. It gradually strengthened as it moved northwestward. It turned northeast and became a hurricane before making landfall on San Nicolas Island. Bob later strengthened into a C2 as it turned more northward, and reached its peak of 110 mph while approaching Oxnard. It weakened into a C1 before making landfall in Oxnard on June 19. Bob rapidly weakened over land before dissipating later that day. Bob caused $8 million in damage but killed no one. This was because of the tiny size of the hurricane.

Tropical Storm Claudette
Formed on June 29 many miles west of the San Diego metro area. It moved northeast as it slowly strengthened. Claudette reached its peak of 45 mph before making landfall near San Clemente on June 30. Claudette dissipated over land very early on July 1. It didn't cause any damage.

Hurricane Daniel
Daniel formed on July 12 at a similar area to where Bob formed. It moved westward away from any islands as it gradually strengthened. Under favorable conditions, it strengthened into a hurricane and then into a C2 as it turned northward. Continuing to strengthen, it reached C3 status away from any islands. Daniel started to weaken after that, and it dissipated on July 18 northwest of San Miguel Island. Daniel didn't affect land.

Storm names
The following names were used to name tropical cyclones this year. This is the first time these names were used. Names that were not used are marked in. The names that were not used this season will be used in 2014 along with the 2nd list.

Backup list
If this season exhausted the first naming list, a 2nd list would be used. These are the first 10 names of the backup list:

Retirement
Due to extensive damage and deaths, the names Emily, Jose, and Michelle were officially retired, and will never be used again. They were replaced by Erin, Josh, and Melissa for use in future seasons.

List for future use: