Tropical Storm Hilary makes landfall in Mexico

Tropical Storm Hilary blew into Southern California on Sunday with winds of 60 mph and torrents of rain, sending mud and boulders onto highways, overwhelming drainage systems and knocking branches off trees from San Diego to Los Angeles.

California officials warned Sunday evening that the worst of Tropical Storm Hilary was yet to come as it made landfall in Mexico. As the first tropical cyclone to strike Southern California in 84 years, Hilary was expected to release relentless rains across a notoriously dry region from San Diego to Las Vegas.

As the state braced for the storm to hit, a 5.1-magnitude earthquake rumbled the region, followed by several aftershocks topping magnitude 3.0. Millions of Californians received back-to-back earthquake alerts interspersed with flash-flood warnings as the quake, centered near the town of Ojai about 80 miles northwest of Los Angeles, was felt for miles.

Hilary’s rains preceded the storm’s arrival in Southern California, as more than 9 million people were warned of the potential for flash flooding, especially in desert areas and hillsides scarred and stripped by recent wildfires.

“We need our communities to also help us out. We need to stay home,” San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez said Sunday as California braced for landfall. “We need to really heed the warnings that the worst of the storm has yet to come.”

That warning was echoed by National Hurricane Center director Michael Brennan.

“You do not want to be out driving around, trying to cross flooded roads on vehicle or on foot,” he said during a briefing from Miami. “Rainfall flooding has been the biggest killer in tropical storms and hurricanes in the United States in the past 10 years, and you don’t want to become a statistic.”

After drenching San Diego the storm headed north and inland on Sunday evening, to desert areas. In Palm Springs and other desert communities that are normally bone-dry, dozens of cars became trapped in floodwaters.

Los Angeles schools were closed on Monday, and San Diego school officials put off the first day of school from Monday to Tuesday.

Hilary was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm on Saturday, as its sustained winds dropped to around 70 mph.

“This does not lessen the threat, especially the flood threat,” said Jamie Rhome, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center. “Don’t let the weakening trend and the intensity lower your guard.”

Through early Monday morning, Hilary was expected to dump three to six inches of rain across Southern California, western Arizona and southern Nevada. Some areas were predicted to receive more rain in 24 hours than in a typical calendar year.

“Isolated maximum amounts of 10 inches are expected across portions of Southern California and southern Nevada leading to dangerous to catastrophic flooding,” the National Hurricane Center warned Sunday.

Severe weather warnings were also issued south of the border across Baja California, where authorities worried about significant storm surge. Tijuana fire chief Rafael Carrillo voiced the widespread concern about houses built into the city’s steep hillsides.

“If you hear noises, or the ground cracking, it is important for you to check it and get out as fast as possible, because the ground can weaken and your home could collapse,” Carrillo said.

In the town of Santa Rosalia, near the center of the peninsula on the east coast, one person drowned Saturday when their vehicle was swept away by an overflowing stream. While the peninsula had been battered by rains from Hilary throughout the day, officials did not immediately attribute the person’s death to the storm.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Saturday and advised people to make preparations, saying it would be too late by Sunday as the rains came and store shelves emptied. Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo followed suit Sunday and activated 100 National Guard troops.

The Mexican navy evacuated 850 people from islands off the Baja coast, while California advised evacuation from tourist-packed Santa Catalina Island.

With News Wire Services

Originally Published: Aug 20, 2023 at 12:58 pm