Post-Tropical Cyclone Hilary pounded Southern California with torrential rain on Sunday that caused rivers to overflow their banks, mudslides that sent boulders the size of large trucks tumbling onto highways and numerous reports of people trapped by fast-moving water.
Though Hilary is now a post-tropical cyclone as of the final advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), the storm’s impacts of heavy rain and strong wind gusts will continue through Monday morning as the storm races north.
The powerful storm is forecast to move all the way into Idaho by Monday afternoon, dissipating quickly into the evening.
The once-Category 4 hurricane made landfall along the Baja California peninsula in Mexico on Sunday morning as a tropical storm, and the deadly storm continued to weaken as it made its way into the southwestern U.S. by late afternoon.
Hilary has already claimed at least one life in Mexico after a family of five was swept into the sea while crossing a stream in the Baja California Sur state, according to local officials.
States of emergency were declared in both California and Nevada due to the storm’s effects, and FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell spoke with both California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Nevada Gov. Joseph Lombardo ahead of the storm to offer the federal agency’s assistance to offer support.
Even though Hilary continues to weaken as of Monday, the impacts from the storm’s torrential rain and damaging wind gusts have been far-reaching.
Flooding along Interstate 10 and several local roadways in and around Palm Springs, California, triggered city officials to declare a local state of emergency due to the “unprecedented rainfall and flooding of local roadways and at least one swift water rescue.”
FLOODING OVERTAKES PALM SPRINGS DURING HILARY
There have been reports of at least two water rescues, and officials had urged everyone to stay off the roads until the water receded.
City officials confirmed that 911 lines were down across the area, and there was no estimated time for repairs to be made.
A spokesperson for the Eisenhower Health Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California, said overworked pumps led to water entering the facility’s administration offices through the ambulance bay area of the medical center.
However, no patient care areas were impacted inside the medical center and the water has since receded. The spokesperson said the medical center is prepared to switch to generator power if needed, and the hospital has not seen an uptick in patients during Hilary.
Flooding wasn’t the only danger that drivers faced on roads across portions of Southern California on Sunday.
Mud was seen pouring onto roadways near Los Angeles, and in the town of Mountain Spring, a road was closed due to a rockslide. In nearby Calexico, another rockslide sent boulders larger than trucks crashing onto roadways.
TORRENTIAL RAIN FROM HILARY CAUSES DANGEROUS MUDSLIDES, ROCKSLIDES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Roads were also flooded in the town of Llano in Southern California, where video showed mud and water rushing over Route 118.
The FOX Forecast Center says heavy rain is expected to end later on Monday morning as Hilary races to the north and enters Idaho by Monday afternoon.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) downgraded Hilary from a tropical storm to a post-tropical cyclone early Monday morning, which means that it has lost all its tropical characteristics needed to be considered a tropical storm.
The heaviest rain in Southern California is ending, but a few inches of rain is still expected farther to the north in the Pacific Northwest.
Areas of northeastern Oregon and western Idaho could see 2-3 inches of rain through Tuesday, with locally higher amounts of 3-5 inches.
Los Angeles picked up more than 2 inches of rain from Hilary, making it one of their wettest August days on record.
San Diego also picked up nearly 2 inches of rain. The highest rainfall totals were recorded in the mountains, with some areas picking up nearly 7 inches of rain.