A STORM FOR BOTH OCEANS

in september 1971, hurricane irene-olivia tracked westward across the atlantic ocean and the caribbean, thence clear across central america, and entered the pacific ocean. in doing so, the storm became the first actively-tracked tropical cyclone to be classified both as a hurricane (atlantic basin) and as a typhoon (pacific ocean). in its last stages, I-O brought over two inches of rain to southern arizona and new mexico -- which may not sound like much, until you consider that ecologically, a desert is defined in part by its annual rainfall, i.e. twelve inches or less per year. (click on the image to enlarge)