Hurricane Heather

Hurricane Heather was one of the worst tropical cyclones to affect Arizona on record. The sixteenth tropical cyclone, eighth named storm, and fourth hurricane of the 1977 Pacific hurricane season, it began as a tropical disturbance on October 3, before later developing into a tropical depression on October 4. Later that day, the depression turned to the northwest, and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Heather. Continuing to strengthen, on October 5, Heather strengthened into a hurricane, and later that day its winds peaked at 85 mph (135 km/h). Heather began to turn north-northwest around this time, and by October 6, it weakened into a tropical storm. Moving north, Heather continued to weaken over cooler waters, and on October 7, the final advisory was issued, downgrading Heather to a tropical depression.

For other storms of the same name, see List of storms named Heather.
Hurricane Heather
Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Satellite image of Hurricane Heather
FormedOctober 4, 1977
DissipatedOctober 7, 1977
Highest winds1-minute sustained: 85 mph (140 km/h)
Lowest pressure978 mbar (hPa); 28.88 inHg
FatalitiesNone reported
Damage$15 million (1977 USD)
Areas affectedSocorro Island, Arizona, Sonora
Part of the 1977 Pacific hurricane season

Heather's remnants later brought heavy rains to southeast Arizona and far northern parts of Sonora from October 6–10, causing severe flooding. Rain totals as high as 14 inches were recorded in unspecified areas in this region, and the city of Nogales in Arizona officially recorded 8.30 inches (211 mm) of rain from the storm. 400 people were driven from their homes due to flooding from Heather. The Santa Cruz River flooded along its path, reaching up to a 100-year flood stage near Nogales. Overall, the storm caused $15 million (1977 USD) in damage, primarily to agriculture, but caused no fatalities.

Meteorological history
Map plotting the track and the intensity of the storm, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale

Heather began as a tropical disturbance, roughly 300 mi (480 km) south-southwest of Manzanillo, at 18:00 UTC on October 3.[1] Moving west-northwest at about 14 mph, the disturbance intensified over sea surface temperatures (SSTs) of 84 °F (29 °C), and was upgraded to Tropical Depression Sixteen at 00:00 UTC on October 4.[1] The depression turned to the northwest, and 6 hours later was upgraded to Tropical Storm Heather.[1] Heather continued to intensify, and by 06:00 UTC on October 5, Heather was upgraded to a hurricane while 70 miles west of Socorro Island; the storm brought 60 mph (95 km/h) winds to the island at this time.[1][2]

At 12:00 UTC on October 5, Heather reached peak winds of 85 mph (135 km/h), while about 165 mi (270 km) west-northwest of Socorro Island.[1][2] A NOAA reconnaissance aircraft estimated a sea-level pressure of 978 millibars (28.9 inHg) at 21:00 UTC, the lowest recorded in relation to the storm.[1] After this point, Heather began to weaken after moving north-northwest over colder SSTs.[1] Heather fell to tropical storm status late on October 6, while about 285 mi (460 km) west of Isla Magdalena.[1] Heather continued to weaken after turning north over waters as cool as 72 °F (22 °C), and satellite imagery showed the storms upper and lower circulations separating by about 140 mi (225 km).[1] The final advisory on Heather was issued at 06:00 UTC on October 7, downgrading Heather to a tropical depression that was rapidly dissipating.[1] Heather's remnants collided with a cold front on October 8 or 9, which became nearly stationary south of Nogales around this time for 24–36 hours, before weakening and moving east on October 10.[3]

Effects
Rainfall summary for Hurricane Heather.

Heather's remnants produced heavy rainfall in southeast Arizona from October 6–10. The heaviest impacts came in Nogales, where at least 8.30 inches (211 mm) of rain fell in 4 days,[4] though unofficial reports in some parts of the city indicated 12 inches (300 mm) of rain fell.[5] Residents of the city were urged to conserve water, after wells of the city became unusable due to mud.[5] 170 families from the city were evacuated,[5] while over 400 people overall were evacuated from their homes across Arizona.[6] Reports of 10–14 inches (250–360 mm) of rainfall were recorded in unspecified areas of the mountains near Nogales and in far northern Sonora.[6] Parts of southern California received up to 2 inches of rain.[7] The Santa Cruz River reached a 50-year flood stage near Tucson, and over a 100-year flood stage near Nogales, rising 3 feet in 15 minutes in the latter;[4] the river also reached its highest known discharge at the time upstream of Tucson.[8] The town of Marana also flooded due to the storm.[4][9] As a result of the floods, a bridge collapsed in Amado.[10] The San Pedro and Gila rivers also flooded; the former's flood was considered severe.[4][3]

Total damage from the storm was at least $15 million,[6] with $3 million of that coming in Tucson.[4] About $9 million of the damage was related to agriculture, $4 million was related to transportation, and $2 million was business-related, residential, or damage to utilities.[3] At least 90 homes flooded, mostly near Nogales.[3] The governor of Arizona at the time, Raúl Héctor Castro, declared Santa Cruz County a disaster area.[11] Sixteen days later, the new governor, Wesley Bolin, requested $11.3 million in flood relief from president Jimmy Carter after the storm.[12] Along the Santa Cruz, 15,600 acres of farmland were inundated in Santa Cruz and Pima counties.[3]

See also

References
  1. Gunther, Emil B. (1978-04-01). "Eastern North Pacific Tropical Cyclones of 1977". Monthly Weather Review. 106 (4): 557–558. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1978)1062.0.CO;2. ISSN 1520-0493.
  2. National Hurricane Center; Hurricane Research Division; Central Pacific Hurricane Center. "The Northeast and North Central Pacific hurricane database 1949–2019". United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. Retrieved 1 October 2020. A guide on how to read the database is available here.
  3. Aldridge, Byron Neil; Eychaner, James H. (1983). Floods of October 1977 in Southern Arizona and March 1978 in Central Arizona (PDF) (Report). United States Geological Survey. pp. 3–19. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  4. Brazel, Anthony; Brazel, Sandra. Precipitation and flooding in southern Arizona: the legacy of Tropical Storm Heather, October, 1977 (PDF) (Report). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  5. "Town hall set". Kingman Daily Miner. October 10, 1977. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  6. National Weather Service, Tucson Regional Office. "Hurricane Heather 1977". Archived from the original on 2017-06-16. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  7. Miller, Miguel (2012). The Weather Guide (PDF) (Report) (6th ed.). National Weather Service in San Diego. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  8. Smith, Walter (August 1986). The Effects of Eastern North Pacific Tropical Cyclones on the Southwestern United States (PDF) (Report). Salt Lake City, Utah. pp. 177–179. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  9. Flood Insurance Study; Pima County Arizona and Incorporated Areas (PDF) (Report). 1. Federal Emergency Management Agency. September 28, 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  10. Hogan, Don (April 2006). YEAR 1973–1979 (PDF) (Report). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  11. "Tucson Citizen Newspaper Archives, Oct 11, 1977, p. 22". NewspaperArchive.com. 1977-10-11. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  12. "Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona on October 27, 1977 · Page 5". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
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