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Tropical storm Hilary slammed Southern California with a deluge of rainfall, flooding roadways and breaking records in parts of the region on Sunday as it made its historic arrival.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for much of Southern California, with flash flood warnings in place until the early hours of Monday.
The National Weather Service warned of record-breaking rainfall and possibly life-threatening impacts. By Sunday evening, several records for daily rainfall amounts had already been broken in the Los Angeles area, the weather service said.
What to know about the storm
- Tropical Storm Hilary made landfall Sunday on the Baja California peninsula of Mexico, with “catastrophic and life-threatening flooding” expected in the region, including across parts of the southwestern U.S., according to the National Hurricane Center.
- A person drowned Saturday in the Mexican town of Santa Rosalia, on the peninsula’s eastern coast. Rescue workers managed to save four other people, said Edith Aguilar Villavicencio, the mayor of Mulege township.
- Forecasters warned of "life-threatening" flooding in areas not known for rainfall and said strong winds might down trees and power lines.
- Several records for daily rainfall amounts were broken for Sunday's date in the Los Angeles area, the National Weather Service said.
Once a Category 4 hurricane, Hilary was downgraded to a tropical depression before reaching California. It was the first tropical storm to hit southern California since 1939.
The storm made landfall on Sunday on the Baja California peninsula of Mexico.
One person drowned Saturday in the Mexican town of Santa Rosalia on the peninsula’s eastern coast after a vehicle was swept away in an overflowing stream.
Travel treacherous in San Bernardino County
Search is on for person believed to be in river in Ventura County
Authorities tonight were searching for a person believed to be in the Santa Clara River in Ventura County, the Ventura County Fire Department said.
Two other people were rescued after they were walked out of the river by first responders, the department said on X, the platform formally known as Twitter.
The department was using a helicopter and searchers on the ground to find the third person.
The river runs east-west from the Sierra Pelona Mountains in northern Los Angeles County.
Rainfall records fall in Los Angeles area
Several records for daily rainfall amounts were broken for this date in the Los Angeles area, the National Weather Service said tonight.
The service's official weather station for L.A. at the University of Southern California measured 1.53 inches of rain, breaking the last record for this date, 0.03 in 1906, it said.
At Los Angeles International Airport, a reading of 1.28 inches was much more than needed to break 2002's high mark of "a trace," the weather service said.
Long Beach (1.56 inches), Hollywood Burbank (1.61 inches), Palmdale (2.95 inches), Lancaster (2.72), Sandberg (1.52), Oxnard (0.77) and Santa Barbara airports (0.06) also bested previous showings for this date, it said.
The high temperature of 85 at Santa Maria Airport in Santa Barbara County also beat the previous high mark on this date, 82, set in 2007, according to the weather service.
More school districts in California and Nevada to close Monday
After Los Angeles and San Diego public school districts, the two largest in the state, announced classes were canceled tomorrow, other districts followed suit late today.
They include:
- The Antelope Valley Union High School District in Lancaster, a high desert city in Los Angeles County.
- The William S. Hart Union High School District in Santa Clarita, a city in northern Los Angeles County.
- The Pasadena Unified School District in Pasadena.
- The Nye County School District in Nye County, Nevada, northwest of Las Vegas.
District officials in Nye County said the decision was made, in part, because county leaders recommended residents shelter in place during the storm.
Charts: Hilary rainfall sends California river levels rising
The National Weather Service tracks river heights across the California. As Hilary moved across the southern end of the state, rainfall from the tropical storm caused river levels to surge.
'Life-threatening flooding' reported along Malibu coastline
The National Weather Service said tonight that "life-threatening flooding" was taking place along the Malibu coastline and in adjacent Ventura County communities.
"THIS IS LIFE THREATENING FLOODING!!!!!!" the service said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Its warning about dangerous flooding applies to the coast from Point Dume to Point Mugu, and it includes the communities of Camarillo, Westlake Village, Somis and Spanish Hills, the weather service said.
The region was under multiple tropical storm and flash flood warnings.
Swift-water rescues were taking place in Spanish Hills, where vehicles were stuck in flooded roadways, the weather service said.
Phoenix Fire Department sending resources to storm zone
The Phoenix Fire Department said today that it's sending a team of 16 to help deal with fallout from Tropical Storm Hilary.
Biden says federal resources are in place to help
In a statement this evening, President Joe Biden said that his administration is monitoring Tropical Storm Hilary and that the federal government had positioned resources to help with the response. In advance of landfall, FEMA sent personnel and supplies to California, and the Coast Guard moved aircraft to be available for rapid response and searches and rescues. Government agencies will continue working with California, Nevada and Arizona to get assistance to needed areas, the statement said.
“I urge people to take this storm seriously, and listen to state and local officials,” the statement said.
San Bernardino County declares emergency
San Bernardino County, one of the inland areas forecast to be hard hit by Tropical Storm Hilary, declared a local state of emergency today.
The declaration will clear the way for quicker state and federal assistance, the county said in a statement.
Sheriff Shannon Dicus said Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the county's emergency operations center earlier. "Armed with insights, he could declare a state of emergency, if needed," the sheriff said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Late yesterday, the sheriff's department said mandatory evacuations were in effect for communities in the path of Hilary's torrential rains: Oak Glen, Forest Falls, Mountain Home Village, Angelus Oaks and Northeast Yucaipa.
