Tropical Storm Watch Issued For Southern California

The National Hurricane Center issued the first ever Tropical Storm watch in Californian history on Friday, with Southern California expected to be hit by Hurricane Hilary sometime on Sunday.

Tropical cyclones striking California while still at hurricane or tropical storm strength are rare. The last time such a storm struck the state was in 1939 when the Long Beach tropical storm arrived and caused around $2 million worth of damage, or adjusted for 2023 inflation, about $43 million.

Currently, Hurricane Hilary is a category 4 hurricane, but it is expected to dissipate in the next few days to a tropical storm. While up to six inches of rain is expected to fall in some parts of California with high winds, flooding has been the main concern for most areas. Currently, flood watches are in effect from Saturday night to Monday night for the counties of  San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles. In addition, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that the tropical storm will bring heavy rainfall to parts of Arizona, Utah, and Nevada, as well as Baja California in Mexico.

“A turn toward the north-northwest is expected tonight, followed by a faster motion toward the north Saturday night and Sunday,” said the NHC in an advisory issued on Friday. “On the forecast track, the center of Hilary will move close to the west coast of the Baja California peninsula over the weekend and reach southern California by Sunday night. Maximum sustained winds are near 130 mph (215 km/h) with higher gusts.”

“Hilary is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Fluctuations in intensity are likely through tonight. Weakening is expected to begin by Saturday, but Hilary will still be a hurricane when it approaches the west coast of the Baja California peninsula Saturday night and Sunday. Hilary is expected to weaken to a tropical storm by late Sunday before it reaches southern California. Life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flooding likely over much of Baja California and Southern California this weekend and early next week.”

3 am MDT Friday, August 18 Key Messages for Hurricane #Hilary. Significant flooding impacts are possible across portions of the Baja California peninsula and the southwestern U.S. through early next week.https://t.co/uXCLgpJttU pic.twitter.com/Ulubvz83Sz

— NHC Eastern Pacific (@NHC_Pacific) August 18, 2023

In Southern California, residents are getting ready for the first tropical storm to strike the state in their lifetime. Emergency workers told the Globe on Friday that the storm would likely cause damage, with roads expected to have difficult driving conditions as a result.

“Hilary is going to bring a lot of rain, high winds, and likely floods in some areas,” said LA EMS worker Jackson Martinez to the Globe. “Don’t leave unless you have to the next few days, make sure to have water, and really, hunker down. Roads will be a mess in a lot of places most likely, and we would like those open for emergency workers and responders as much as possible. Trees could come down, power can go out, and so much more.”

Politically, the storm and likely flooding are also likely to help push the issue of several flooding-related bills that were written earlier this year in response to the flooding seen in Northern California from the atmospheric bomb storms in January and March. The storm, if as bad as predicted, will likely also bring a number of additional executive orders by Governor Newsom concerning flooding, more disaster related FEMA funding coming to the state, and more focus on flooding-related bond issues currently scheduled for the 2024 General election.

“The storm in Southern California is going to refresh a lot of lawmakers minds here about flood and storm risks,” added Dana, a Capitol staffer, in a Globe interview. “Everyone is bracing for it there. Whether it causes a lot of damage or manages to miss, this worry over flooding alone is expected to help lawmakers side with funding. California has seen so many major storms this year now that anything involving flooding or storm preparedness is now a bipartisan issue. It affects every county now it seems.”

Hurricane Hillary is expected to make landfall in California during the weekend.