Will Hurricane Marie Make Landfall in California? What to Know

As Hawaii braces for the impacts of a major hurricane this weekend, a separate tropical weather maker spinning farther to the east in the Pacific is gearing up to dump rain across portions of the Desert Southwest and California. Read on for why forecasters are warning that it could be a soggy Labor Day weekend in this corner of the U.S.

Pockets of Heavy Rain in Store for California and the Southwest

The entire West Coast is experiencing a long-awaited break from the hot and dry summer. The setup fired up on Wednesday when an unusually strong jet stream storm pushed into the Pacific Northwest. This system will continue to creep farther inland into the interior West as the weekend progresses.

The parade of storms moving into the Northwest will pull up some of the moisture associated with Hurricane Marie, a storm churning off the coast of Hawaii. The latest forecast models signal that California and the Southwest will be under the gun for a stream of precipitation originating with Marie.

Sea surface temperatures off the coast of northwest Mexico and Southern California are trending warmer than average as El Niño continues to intensify and exert a greater influence. Although it is possible that the water is warm enough to support a long-lasting tropical weather event moving into California, it is not likely that the Golden State will see a direct strike.

Hurricane landfalls in California are exceptionally rare. Even the notorious Hurricane Hilary from 2023 did not officially come ashore in the U.S. In fact, the only tropical storm on record to ever make landfall in California dates back to 1939.

Looking Ahead to Next Weekend

While forecasters are reasonably certain that some of the rain produced by Marie's activity will make it as far as California, they are also monitoring another chance for more tropical moisture for the region by the middle of September. Once again, the behavior of the jet stream will dictate whether a fresh wave of heavy rain will move into California and beyond.

The long-range forecast is predicting that another named feature could erupt by the second weekend of September. It has been a busy period for the Pacific basin, with 15 named storms already on the books. The next name on the list of predetermined names for the eastern Pacific is Norbert.

Although the sudden onset of the wet pattern may be a nuisance to those trying to squeeze out the last of the summer fun across the West Coast, some areas of the western U.S. are in dire need of a good soaking. This includes the Colorado River basin, an area dealing with widespread drought conditions.

Lastly, forecasters are warning that even in the absence of rain this weekend, the beaches of California will be under the threat of large swells, rip currents, and sneaker conditions as the elevated activity in the tropical Pacific remains a danger.

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