Hurricane Linda was the strongest Pacific hurricane on record. Forming from a tropical wave on September 9, 1997, Linda steadily intensified and reached hurricane status within 36 hours of developing. Subsequently, it rapidly intensified, reaching winds of 185 mph (295 km/h) and an estimated central pressure of 902 millibars (26.65 inches of mercury). The hurricane was briefly forecast to move toward southern California, but instead, it turned out to sea and dissipated on September 17. It was the fifteenth tropical cyclone, thirteenth named storm, seventh hurricane, and fifth major hurricane of the 1997 Pacific hurricane season. While near peak intensity, Hurricane Linda passed near Socorro Island, where it damaged meteorological instruments. The hurricane produced high waves along the southwestern Mexican coastline, forcing the closure of five ports. When Linda was predicted to make landfall on California, it would have been the first to do so since a storm in 1939. Although it did not hit the state, the hurricane produced light to moderate rainfall across the region, causing mudslides and flooding in the San Gorgonio Wilderness; two houses were destroyed and 77 others were damaged, and damage totaled $3.2 million (1997 USD, $4.3 million 2008 USD). Despite the intensity, the name was not retired.
Read the rest of this article: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Linda_%281997%29> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1461: Wars of the Roses in England: Lancastrian King Henry VI was deposed by his Yorkist cousin, who then became King Edward IV. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_IV_of_England> 1681: King Charles II of England granted Quaker William Penn a charter for the Pennsylvania Colony. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Pennsylvania> 1769: French astronomer Charles Messier first noted the Orion Nebula (pictured), a bright nebula visible to the naked eye in the night sky situated south of Orion's Belt, later cataloguing it as Messier 42 in his list of Messier objects. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_Nebula> 1837: After its population increased to over 4,000 in seven years, Chicago was granted a city charter by the U.S. state of Illinois. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Chicago%3C%21--Main_%5B%5BChicago%5D%5D_article_is_tagged_with_%7B%7Bupdate%7D%7D--%3E> 1860: The Forth Railway Bridge, a railway bridge connecting Edinburgh to Fife over the Firth of Forth, opened, becoming an internationally recognised Scottish landmark. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forth_Railway_Bridge> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: partisan (adj): 1. Adherent to a party or faction; especially, having the character of blind, passionate, or unreasonable adherence. 2. Devoted to or biased in support of a party, group, or cause. 3. Serving as commander of a body of detached light troops <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/partisan> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: Philosophy is based on speculation, on logic, on thought, on the synthesis of what we know and on the analysis of what we do not know. Philosophy must include within its confines the whole content of science, religion and art. --P. D. Ouspensky <http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/P._D._Ouspensky> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
