Hurricane Howard (2004)

Hurricane Howard

Category 4 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Howard at peak intensity on September 2
Formed	August 30, 2004
Dissipated	September 5, 2004
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 140 mph (220 km/h)
Lowest pressure	943 mbar (hPa); 27.85 inHg
Fatalities	None reported
Areas affected	Baja California Peninsula, California, and Arizona
Part of the 2004 Pacific hurricane season

Hurricane Howard was a powerful Category 4 hurricane which produced large swells along the coasts of the Baja California Peninsula and southern California. The eighth named storm of the 2004 Pacific hurricane season, Howard originated out of a tropical wave off the coast of Mexico on August 30. Traveling towards the northwest, the storm gradually strengthened, becoming a hurricane on September 1 and reaching its peak intensity the following day with winds of 140 mph (220 km/h). Decreasing sea surface temperatures then caused the storm to weaken. By September 4, Howard was downgraded to a tropical storm. The next day, it degenerated into a non-convective remnant low pressure area which persisted for another five days before dissipating over open waters.

Although the storm never made landfall, the fringe effects of the storm produced significant flooding across the Baja California Peninsula which damaged agricultural land and dozens of homes. Howard also produced large swells which reached 18 ft (5.4 m) along the Baja coastline and 10 ft (3 m) along the California coastline. About 1,000 lifeguard rescues took place in California due to the waves. Moisture from the storm also enhanced rainfall in parts of Arizona, leading to minor accumulations.

Hurricane Howard began as a tropical wave that moved off the west coast of Africa on August 18. The wave moved across the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea with little associated convection. By August 26, the wave produced disorganized convection as it moved through the western Caribbean, across Central America, and entered the eastern Pacific Ocean. Paralleling the southern coast of Mexico, the wave became increasingly organized and it was estimated that the tropical wave spawned a tropical depression around 1200 UTC on August 30 about 400 mi (645 km) south-southwest of Acapulco, Mexico. Classified as Tropical Depression Eleven-E, the system tracked west-northwestward under the steering currents of a weak mid-level ridge. In the hours after formation, the depression lacked a concentration of deep convection near the center. However, conditions favored eventual development, including warm sea surface temperatures and low amounts of wind shear.