Flash Flood Warning Issued For Los Angeles—And Heavy Rain Threatens Death Valley

Topline

A flash flood warning was issued for Los Angeles County on Sunday afternoon after Tropical Storm Hilary made landfall in Baja California, Mexico—as the southwestern U.S. prepares for “catastrophic flooding” and heavy winds from Southern California’s first tropical storm since 1939.

Sandbags protect the Beach House on Seal Beach on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023 in Orange County, CA.

Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Key Facts

Hilary made landfall at around 11 a.m. local time in northern Baja California, roughly 200 miles south-southeast of the San Diego-Tijuana border, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 65 mph.

The storm—which was downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane earlier Sunday—is moving north-northwest at about 25 mph toward Tijuana and San Diego, where it is expected to hit between 2 and 6 p.m. local time Sunday.

It is later expected to move toward San Bernardino, east of Los Angeles.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria declared a local emergency, while much of Los Angeles County is under a flash flood warning and Huntington Beach faces a tropical storm warning

Road and highway closures in northern Los Angeles County have been reported due to mudslides and flooding.

Water is flowing across roads in Death Valley National Park, the National Park Service said Sunday, warning that “it will get worse” and “emergency services probably won’t be able to respond” as the area prepares to lose power and communications.

National Guard teams are standing by in California, and the state has deployed swift water rescue teams in Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.

Meanwhile, the Mexican city of Santa Rosalía—where one death was reported due to flooding—has experienced “very severe” damage, with mayor Edith Aguilar Villavicencio describing downed poles and branches Sunday, according to the New York Times.

Parts of a highway running from Tijuana to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula are reportedly closed.

What To Watch For

The National Weather Service said it expects heavy rainfall that could bring as many as 10 inches of rain to some parts of Southern California and last into Monday, leading to potentially “locally catastrophic flooding impacts” as some locations “are slated to get 1-2 years worth of rain in one day.” On Saturday, Nancy Ward, the director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, warned the storm “could be one of the most devastating storms that we’ve had hit California in more than a decade.”

A man takes pictures at the beach near the US-Mexico border as tropical storm Hilary approaches in … [+] Playas de Tijuana, Baja California State, Mexico, on August 20, 2023. T

AFP via Getty Images

Key Background

Hurricane Hilary strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane Friday as it moved off the coast of Baja California but was downgraded three times on Saturday. Evacuation warnings have been issued for the eastern Orange County mountains and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a local emergency declaration ahead of the storm. By the time the weather reaches Southern California, the National Weather Service has warned of “catastrophic and life-threatening flooding” through Monday. A hurricane warning is in effect for Baja California from Punta Abreojos to Cabo San Quintin, a hurricane watch for the Baja California peninsula north of Cabo San Quintin and a tropical storm warning for the rest of the peninsula, the California/Mexico border and Catalina Island.

Surprising Fact

California has not seen a tropical storm make landfall since record keeping began in 1949, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Jesse Ferrell. A tropical cyclone killed nearly 100 people in September 1939, the New York Times reported, but the only tropical storm with hurricane-force winds is believed to have last hit Southern California when a hurricane struck San Diego in October of 1858.

Big Number

12 feet. That’s the highest waves reached in Baja California Sunday.