Hilary made a name for herself in Mexico with punishing rains
On the last tropical storm that hit the southern part of the Sierra Leone: Erik Anderson in Tijuana, Calif., in 1939
Much of southern California is under its first-ever tropical storm warning, given that the region is most frequented by disasters like wildfires and earthquakes. The last time a storm of this strength hit the south was in 1939.
KPBS environment reporter Erik Anderson says there’s a lot of concern for this storm’s impact on the city of Tijuana. It’s a quickly growing city built on a hillside surrounded by canyons. Mud slides are more likely to occur in Tijuana than in San Diego because of the higher chance of heavy rains.
There was one storm in 1939 that held its tropical storm strength until it got to San Diego, but that’s it. The weather in this region is not normal.
Kathleen and Doereen were born in 1977. 1997, Eudora,” Tardy lists, “there’s not many that we can look back historically that even had a forecast coming right at us.”
Tropical Storm Hilary is coming to the West Coast of Southern California and the Southwest: Predictions for State of Emergency in California, Nevada, and Arizona
“We’re talking about the potential for many years worth of precipitation in just a few days in some parts of the desert of southeastern California, southern Nevada and western Arizona,” he said.
Flood watches are in effect from Mexico, north to Ventura, and inland to western Arizona, as torrential rains from what remains of Hurricane Hilary are expected to impact the West Coast and Southwest through the weekend.
Tropical Storm Hilary is approaching Southern California and parts of the Southwest on Sunday — bringing fierce winds and historic rainfall to areas that have not seen tropical storm conditions in more than 80 years.
Hilary, which was a Category 2 storm on Sunday before being upgraded to a Category 3 on Monday, is moving near the Baja California peninsula. There was at least one death of a person in the Mexican town of SantaRosalia. Mexico’s hurricane watch has ended, but the Baja California coast is still under threat of flash floods.
As as of 8 a.m. local time on Sunday, the storm was about 220 miles south-southeast of San Diego and traveling at 25 miles per hour. It is expected to sweep across southern California by the afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
Between 3 to 6 inches of rain is expected in southern California and southern Nevada, but up to 10 inches is possible. Some parts of the country will get more precipitation in a matter of hours than they do in an entire year. Winds will also be particularly strong and gusty on elevated terrain.
A state of emergency was declared by the governor on Saturday night in several counties. parts of San Bernardino County have already been ordered to evacuate.
The Flood Operations Center, Cal Fire and the California National Guard are on standby with water vehicles and water rescue teams amid flood threats. To prepare their family in case they need to leave, state officials asked residents to sign up for floods and evacuate from their counties.
Tropical storm Hilary is approaching Southern California and parts of the Southwest on Sunday, bringing fierce winds and historic rainfall to areas that have not seen tropical storm conditions in more than 80 years. Hilary is moving near the Baja California peninsula. It’s expected to sweep across southern California by the afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.