Hurricane Ismael (1983)

While still out at sea, Ismael brought rough seas that lead to one home on the Capistrano Beach being ruled unsafe.^[5][6] Although waves from the storm were less than expected, swells of 6–9 ft (1.8–2.7 m) were estimated along south-facing beaches near Santa Barbara. In Malibu, one home was damaged due to the increased surf.^[7] In Laguna Beach, in southern Orange County, a 20-year-old woman was swept off rocks and later died.^[8][9] Overall, Hurricane Ismael was one of six tropical cyclones to bring high waves to the state within a span of a month.^[10]

On August 11, the outer rainbands of Hurricane Ismael brought unseasonably high humidity and thunderstorms to Southern California.^[11] Subsequently, flash flood watches were posted for much of Southern California. The remnants of the storm eventually moved over the area, resulting in significant flooding.^[12] Some areas sustained 2 in (50 mm) of rain,^[13] leading to water depths of 2 to 4 ft (61 to 122 cm) on roadways.^[14] The towns of Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, Twentynine Palms, California, and Landers were the hardest hit.^[14] Nearly every road was washed out in the Yucca Valley.^[15]

Almost 50,000 residents in Palm Springs were isolated due to brief, but heavy rains.^[14] In addition, a tornado damaged two homes and over seven chimneys near Los Angeles. Heavy rains also drenched the cities of Riverside and San Bernardino while flooding several homes.^[14] In the latter, many buildings were destroyed, forcing widespread evacuations.^[16] In Rancho Mirage, 24 homes were damaged.^[17][18] One woman had to be rescued after she was swept 3 mi (4.8 km) downstream a river in Los Angeles.^[19] Around 80,000 homes were left without power across the Inland Empire, though within 24 hours after the outage, power was restored to all but 4,000 residents.^[20] Moreover, portions of Interstate 10, Interstate 15, and 215 were closed. The highway the lead into Palm Springs was closed as well, resulting in major traffic jams.^[17] In all, minor injuries were reported.^[16] However, three people died in San Bernardino when their car swept into a channel.^[17] Damage from the storm totaled $19 million (1983 USD).^[21]

Heavy rains that preceded the storm forced thousands of gamblers along the Las Vegas Strip to be evacuated and left two people missing.^[22] The remnants of the storm later moved into the region, bringing additional flooding. Many parking lots in the resort town of Laughlin were flooded.^[17] Furthermore, the villages of Searchlight and Blue Diamond were isolated due to flooding.^[16] Several major streets in Paradise were closed because of flooding and sandbag barriers were erected alongside Caesars Palace to prevent further flood damage.^[17] In addition, record river levels were measured along the Amargosa River near Death Valley.^[23]

In the Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur, the storm brought high clouds over the region for several days.^[24] In Ensenada, minor flooding was recorded.^[25] Along the peninsula, waves up to 8 ft (2.4 m) were measured.^[26]

Residents of Davis County, Utah that were in close proximity of streams were put on alert due to the threat of flooding.^[27] The remnants of Hurricane Ismael ultimately brought thunderstorms to Arizona and Utah.^[28] In Mohave County, up to 3 in (76 mm) of rain was recorded.^[17] Further south and west, in Phoenix, a thunderstorm flooded streets and brought down power lines.^[29]

• List of Baja California hurricanes
• List of California hurricanes
• Hurricane Darby (1992)
• Hurricane Liza (1968)
• Hurricane Ramon
• Hurricane Marie (2014) – Brought similarly high surf to California, but unlike Ismael, no rain.
• Hurricane Dolores (2015) – Took a similar track to Ismael, and also brought heavy rain to Southern California.