People in southern California, the southwest, and parts of Mexico are now starting to deal with the aftermath of the storm known as Hilary.
The storm, which at one point was a Category 4 hurricane before being downgraded to a tropical storm, was the first such storm to hit California since 1939. By Monday morning, the National Hurricane Center had downgraded Hilary to a post-tropical cyclone.
However, the agency warned at the time that “continued life-threatening and locally catastrophic flooding” was expected over portions of the southwestern U.S. Furthermore, “record-breaking” rainfall and potential “significant” flooding was possible in states as far north as Oregon and Idaho, the National Hurricane Center continued.
Hilary made landfall last Sunday along the Baja Peninsula, south of Ensenada, Mexico, before passing Tijuana. Then, by Sunday evening, the storm had moved over San Diego, according to the Associated Press.
In the meantime, the storm brought record amounts of rain, as well as floods, mudslides, high winds, and power outages.
For instance, parts of Los Angeles County received almost 7 inches of rain, and almost 5 inches of rain had fallen in Beverly Hills by early Monday, according to USA Today. Downtown Los Angeles even had its wettest August day ever recorded on Sunday — with 2.48 inches of rain.
“We basically blew all of our previous rainfall records out of the water,” said Elizabeth Adams, National Weather Service meteorologist, according to the Associated Press. “In Palm Springs, the inundation shattered the daily record of 0.21 inches set in 2003 with 3.18 inches falling Sunday.”
Here’s what you need to know about the current situation in various tourism hotspots:
San Diego
Sunday was the wettest day on record in San Diego with 1.82 inches of rain, the National Weather Service wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The previous record for the wettest day was August 17, 1977, when 1.8 inches of rain fell in the area post-Hurricane Doreen.
Los Angeles
Tropical Storm Hilary, as it was called then, dumped 2.48 inches of rain on Los Angeles. The storm also produced 45-mile-per-hour winds.
Consequently, the Los Angeles Fire Department fielded more than 4,000 emergency calls on Sunday and responded to about 1,800 incidents, Chief Kristin Crowley said, according to CNN.
Although the city was spared catastrophic flooding, mudslides, downed trees, and wires are still dangers, Chief Crowley said.
Palm Springs
Mayor Grace Garner urged Palm Springs residents to stay home on Monday as the city’s cleanup efforts began. Making the situation worse, Interstate 10 had been closed to both eastbound and westbound traffic.
“There is no way in or out of Palm Springs,” Garner said, according to CBS News.
“This storm has been unlike anything our community has faced before,” The City of Palm Springs wrote on its website. “Crews are assessing the road damage and mud residual on arterials which will take time. CHP [California Highway Patrol] and PSPD [Palm Springs Police Department] will reopen roads as they are safe to do so.”
Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park, which is a 2-hour drive from Las Vegas, is the hottest, driest, and lowest national park in the U.S. However, in that desert landscape, even a little rain can cause flash floods and road washouts.
Indeed, that is exactly what happened at Death Valley. Consequently, Death Valley National Park, as well as State Road 190, are closed due to impacts from Hilary.
“Visitors are encouraged to stay home and seek shelter,” according to the National Park Service.
“Park rangers are reminding travelers to ‘Turn around, don’t drown,’” rangers noted. “Flash floods are rivers of mud and rocks that can easily sweep cars off roads. Emergency responders may not be able to reach people in need.”
A reopening date will be announced later after park officials have completed additional assessment of park roads.
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