DATE: Sunday, September 14, 1997            TAG: 9709140084

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   81 lines

CALIFORNIA BRACES FOR HURRICANE'S WINDS, RAIN LINDA COULD DEVASTATE DROUGHT-STRICKEN AREAS.

Southern California is bracing for an event few residents have seen in their lifetimes: a hurricane.

And expectations are that the leading swirls of rain and wind - as well as rising tides - in advance of the more powerful center of Hurricane Linda, could reach the Golden State by tonight.

``We've had enough damaging storms in the past that it seems like most people are taking this seriously,'' said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Los Angeles.

That said, the weather service is concerned that some may not fully understand what a hurricane - and this one in particular, among the most powerful on record in the Western Hemisphere - could do. None has ever hit California.

The Hurricane Center will hold a briefing this morning for Southern California news media, meteorologists and emergency planners.

All expectations are that Linda - packing sustained winds of 145 mph late Saturday - will lose much of its record strength in the next two days as it moves over colder waters flowing south from Alaska.

``Linda is going through an interesting change,'' said Lixion Avila, a meteorologist at the Hurricane Center. ``The inner eye is collapsing and an outer, much larger eyewall appears to be forming. This normally means that fluctuations in intensity or a temporary weakening may occur in the short term.''

Still, the Hurricane Center said, it appears likely Linda's remnants, possibly at tropical storm strength, will make landfall along the West Coast by Tuesday or Wednesday.

At 11 p.m. EDT Saturday, the center of Linda was about 800 miles south of San Diego, moving west-northwest near 14 mph. It was steering toward a developing upper-level trough that is expected to turn it north and eventually northeast, the Hurricane Center said.

Computer forecasts place Linda about 200 miles west-southwest of San Diego Tuesday evening. But long-range outlooks have a decreasing level of accuracy past 36 hours.

``Exactly where and when the storm moves onshore and how strong it will be

Even in a weakened state, it would bring huge amounts of moisture to a wide area that has been largely dry for months.

``It will bring rain, but probably not to anyone's liking,'' said Jerry Jarrell, acting director of the Hurricane Center.

The problem is that the area's soil is dried and hardened, unable to absorb a rush of rain.

``We're in the midst of a record string of more than 200 days with no measurable precipitation in downtown L.A.,'' Wofford said.

In 1939, a tropical storm hit the area, dumping more than a foot of rain in some places. ``So we have several concerns for that,'' Wofford said. To make matters worse, there have been many brush fires in the canyons and hills of the region, leaving little vegetation to hold the soil in place. ``That makes runoff there more dangerous,'' he said. ``You end up with mudslides and debris flows.''

Another concern is boaters. There were 45 deaths in the 1939 storm, most coming when small boats overturned while trying to make it to the mainland from Catalina Island.

``We've been trying to get the word out to the boaters,'' Wofford said. ``Even returning Sunday night, they may face some strong swells.''

In San Diego, the Navy was tracking Linda's progress and ship commanders were told to be ready to head out, said Brent Johnston, a Navy spokesman. ``If we're going to get slammed by a hurricane, a ship is much better equipped to ride it out at sea than slamming into the piers,'' he said.

Meanwhile, in the Atlantic, tropical storm conditions are expected to affect the Azores Islands tonight or early Monday.

At 5 p.m. EDT Saturday, the center of Tropical Storm Erika was about 675 miles west of the westernmost islands of the Azores, moving east-southeast near 10 mph with sustained winds near 50 mph. ILLUSTRATION: Graphics

LINDA

The hurricane is forecast to be 250 miles southwest of San Diego

by midnight Monday.

TRACKER'S GUIDE

[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu