Parts of Southern California were placed under a tropical storm watch for the first time on Friday, as Hurricane Hillary rose to Category 4 status and was poised to hit the area as a tropical storm early Sunday with “major and rare impacts,” including… Heavy rain may lead to widespread flooding.
Hillary, which the National Hurricane Center deemed “large and powerful,” was about 360 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on Friday, packing maximum sustained winds of 145 mph as it moved across the Pacific Ocean.
The hurricane center said it expects Hurricane Hillary to “remain a hurricane as it approaches the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula on Saturday night” but will weaken and become a tropical storm before hitting Southern California on Sunday afternoon.
A tropical storm watch was in place Friday from the California-Mexico border to the Orange-Los Angeles County line, including Catalina Island, meaning tropical storm conditions are generally expected over the next 48 hours.
When will Hillary arrive in Southern California?
The storm is expected to weaken as it approaches Southern California, but parts of the state could see impacts Saturday, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Scott Homan.
“However, the effects of the storm will be far ahead of that as much of the moisture flows north into the storm system and then moves north into California,” Homan told USA TODAY.
San Diego could see rain by Saturday evening, while Los Angeles residents can expect rain Sunday afternoon, Homan said. Los Angeles, Anaheim, Santa Barbara and San Diego could see about 4 inches of rain while desert areas like Palm Springs and the Sierra Nevada face the potential for 4 to 8 inches of rain, he said.
Hillary is expected to weaken into a Category 3 hurricane by late Saturday afternoon, then weaken to a tropical storm Sunday afternoon.
Residents prepare for Hillary with sandbags
Emergency response workers across Southern California were distributing sandbags in preparation for the possibility of severe flooding. from Seal Beach To the Coachella Valley, residents were gathering supplies after an unprecedented tropical storm watch by the National Hurricane Center.
Workers were also re-reinforcing berms, which were built to protect low-lying coastal communities like Huntington Beach from winter waves.
Forecasters said Hillary could bring more than a year's worth of rain to the Palm Springs area, about 5 inches.
The National Park Service planned to close at-risk areas in Joshua Tree National Park east of Los Angeles on Friday evening, suspending all backcountry camping, while other national parks were also at risk of flooding.
Hillary influences:Flood risks in Zion, Joshua Tree, and Death Valley National Parks
Hillary predicts heavy rain and flooding in Southern California
Hillary could be the first tropical storm to make landfall in California since 1939, according to federal weather officials. Last year, Tropical Storm Kai drenched Southern California with torrential rains and flooding without making landfall.
“The combination of heavy rainfall, potential for flash flooding and strong winds could make this a high-impact event for Southern California,” Samantha Connolly, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego, wrote in a forecast Thursday morning.
Hurricane tracker:Updates on the track of each storm
How much rain can Hurricane Hillary bring?
Hillary is expected to bring a risk of flash flooding and heavy rain in Southern California, southern Nevada and western Arizona, the hurricane center said. This is the weather service's forecast for rain in California, in inches.
- Coast/valleys: 2-2.5
- Mojave Desert: 3-5
- Mountains: 4 to 10, reaching 12 inches on the eastern slopes of the mountains
- Lower deserts: 4-7
The heaviest August rainfall ever recorded during the month of August in San Diego was 2.13 inches in 1977, the National Weather Service said Thursday.
Could climate change bring hurricanes to the West Coast?
Hurricanes need two things to stay active: warm water and favorable winds. The California coast typically benefits from cold waters that flow south along the coast and winds tend to either clip the tops of hurricanes or push them westward out to sea. Given its history, a hurricane making landfall in California is not impossible, but it is highly unlikely for two reasons: cold ocean waters and upper winds.
Scientists are not yet sure how human-caused climate change will specifically affect the frequency or intensity of hurricanes.
“Sea surface temperatures are generally rising as the climate warms, which could provide more fuel for any hurricanes that form,” said Kim Wood, an associate professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at Mississippi State University. Read more.
-Dina Voyles Pulver and Doyle Rice, USA Today
Tracking Hurricane Hillary 2023
Hurricane Hillary Savagete model
Contributing: Francisco Guzman and Dina Voyles Pulver; Associated Press
