Eastern Pacific storms are not as strong. Along the western coast of the US and Mexico, the water is cold due to the Alaska current and not very conducive to large storms. That's what makes this one a mutant.Random query: Are Pacific storms typically as strong as Atlantic/Caribbean storms, stronger, or weaker? Just curious how it compares.
Well that and much of the Gulf coast is below sea level, see New Orleans.It's also notable that hurricanes going through the Caribbean are more likely to wreak havoc than Pacific Coast hurricanes, as there's all the little islands and coastal population centers to get whacked.
Bingo. More mountains = storms peter out quickly. Thank goodness for the plate collisions going on...as well as more mountains (for some reason the west side of the Americas tends to be kinda mountainous, all part of that Ring of Fire continental movement I suppose).
Massive flooding along the coast. Buildings here are built to withstand earthquakes but not tornado-force winds. There would be lots of damage but it wouldn't be as bad as Katrina.Now what would have happened if Patricia had hit Los Angeles, that's a good question...
