An account of Hurricane Kathleen

On the night of September 9th, 1976, Hurricane Kathleen struck southern California, dumping about a foot of rain in the San Diego mountains overnight. While classified as a tropical storm, it produced wind gusts of 70-80 knots. The following morning, September 10th, Alan Zingheim accompanied his father to tend to their family ranch in the unincorporated part of Imperial County. Surprisingly, it was a sunny morning, indicating the storm had largely passed. However, they noticed sunlight reflecting off the San Diego mountains to the west, resembling a "sparkle." Concerned, his dad suspected it looked like water, and soon after, they heard flash flood warnings on the radio.

Prompted by his worried mother, they evacuated the ranch. Upon their return, they discovered that a massive 10-foot wall of water had inundated the Imperial Valley desert floor, wiping out the town of Ocotillo and claiming lives on Interstate 8. Their ranch was submerged under three feet of water, ruining their dad's crops. This tragic event led to the sale of their ranch and they relocated to the San Diego area. Meteorologists suggest that such storms occur every roughly every 25-50 years. Ocotillo is particularly vulnerable, as it is situated on an alluvial fan, where water converges from various sources, leaving it susceptible to similar disasters in the future.