Hurricane Norman (1978)

Offshore the coastline of Mexico, the bodies of a father and one of his sons were recovered after rough seas overwhelmed their boat. The father's second son washed ashore while unconscious and was transported to a hospital in Cabo San Lucas by two hikers, where communications were severed in the wake of the cyclone.^[4] Meanwhile, in advance of Norman in California, a weather front contributed to rainfall that staved off wildfire risk in a normally dry time of the year there. However, as this front interacted with the remnants of the cyclone, it prompted flash flood and mudslide warnings across southern portions of the state,^[5] in addition to heavy surf and small craft advisories along the coast. Waves of 6–9 ft (1.8–2.7 m), locally as high as 15 ft (4.6 m) along south-facing beaches in North County, were expected.^[6] Rough seas battered the coastline, with waves up to 10 ft (3.0 m) observed at Newport Beach and 8 ft (2.4 m) at Imperial Beach. Hundreds of rescues were carried out by lifeguards, including a record 586 people at Newport Beach, an additional 200 individuals throughout Orange County, 62 people at all San Diego beaches, and 10 swimmers in Coronado.^[7] Two ships were slammed into their berths and a third had its steel mooring cable snapped in the Port of Los Angeles. A 10,000 t (10,000,000 kg) oil tanker was also swept from its moorings. In Orange County, a 262 ft (80 m) vessel and two barges were ripped from their anchors and ran aground in Dana Point Harbor.^[8]

The remnants of Norman combined with an upper-level trough over California to produce locally heavy rainfall. Although accumulations were lower than expected and allowed forecasters to expire the preexisting flash flood warnings,^[9] a rainfall maxima of 7.01 in (178 mm) was still recorded at Lodgepole Campground.^[10] These rains slowed an outbreak of botulism among anseriformes in Tulare Lake, cutting weekly fatality rates in half.^[11] Several baseball games were canceled or rescheduled.^[12] Traffic accidents were reported along freeways between San Diego and Santa Barbara,^[9] including 21 traffic collisions with injuries near Ontario.^[13] One such accident on U.S. Route 50 near Twin Bridges resulted in the death of a 24-year-old man who collided head-on with another vehicle after swerving to avoid large rocks that had washed onto the road. Both the passenger of his vehicle, and the driver of the vehicle he collided with, were severely injured and hospitalized.^[14]: 2 On Interstate 10 in California, 8,500 US gal (32,000 L) gasoline truck collided with a tanker truck carrying nitrogen, causing the death of one man owing to severe head injuries as well as the hospitalization of the passenger. A truck overturned in a separate accident, spilling scrap iron over three lanes of the freeway and injuring one man as well.^[13] A 16-year-old boy was hospitalized after wrecking his car on wet roads in Riverside.^[15] California State Route 180 was closed for a time after being eclipsed by rocks and water. A portion of a street collapsed in Point Loma, San Diego.^[5] The storm also contributed to localized power outages affecting 15,000 customers,^[9] including 2,000 homes in Mission Bay, La Jolla, and Del Mar.^[5] These outages were primarily caused by power pole fires resultant from rainfall moistening an accumulation of dust on the insulators.^[16] Norman caused severe crop losses throughout California. The raisin crop in particular suffered the state's largest loss on record, with 95 percent of that crop destroyed. Agricultural losses exceeded $300 million.^[1] The cyclone inflicted an additional $300,000 in damage to roads, bridges, and private property across Inyo County.^[17]

Moisture from the storm contributed to accumulating snow up to 5 in (13 cm) across the Sierra Nevada, catching many hikers off-guard.^[8] The bodies of three men and a woman were recovered at higher elevations. All four of the deceased were dressed in summer-like clothing and had little other equipment with them.^[18] The freshly laid snow, followed by a blanket of fog across the region, slowed rescue efforts.^[19] Some 21 hikers near Convict Lake and Mount McGee were stranded but later recovered, and 3 others near Lake Italy were rescued as well. Initial reports suggested 17 hikers were also missing around Mount Whitney,^[8] but these individuals were later said to be part of a search and rescue team.^[18] Chains were temporarily required along Nevada State Route 431, and a traveler advisory was issued across northeastern portions of the state.^[20]: 1 Meanwhile, a hang glider was reported missing on Mount Shasta after he was met by strong winds at an elevation of 11,000 ft (3,400 m).^[14]: 6 A plane, harboring three travelers on a route from Porterville, California, to Reno, Nevada, also went missing in a mixture of rain and snow produced by the remnants of Norman and a nearby front. The Civil Air Patrol established search headquarters and readied aircraft to search the Sierra Nevada.^[20]: 3

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• Other storms named Norman
• 1858 San Diego Hurricane
• 1939 California tropical storm
• Hurricane Ismael (1983)
• Hurricane Ramon
• List of California hurricanes