PALM DESERT, Calif. — Hilary, the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, swept people into swollen rivers, toppled trees onto homes and flooded roadways as the massive system marched northward, prompting flood watches and warnings in more than a half dozen states.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami downgraded Hilary to a post-tropical storm Monday morning, but warned that “continued life-threatening and locally catastrophic flooding” was expected over portions of the southwestern U.S., along with record-breaking rainfall. There was the potential of flooding in states as far north as Oregon and Idaho. Remnants of the storm were expected to linger at least through Tuesday morning.
Hilary, which first slammed into Mexico’s arid Baja California Peninsula, causing one death and widespread flooding, was one of several potentially catastrophic natural events affecting California on Sunday. Besides the tropical storm, which produced tornado warnings, there were wildfires and an earthquake. So far, no deaths, serious injuries or extreme damages have been reported in the state, though officials warned the risks remain, especially in the desert and mountainous regions because of swollen waterways and the wet hillsides that could unleash mudslides.
Winding roads in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles were blocked by mud and debris flows. A stretch of the I-10 freeway near Palm Springs was also shut to traffic due to pooling water from the storm. Along the coast, a stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway in surf-friendly Huntington Beach was also flooded.
Terry Flanigan was inside her home in Palm Desert after taking pictures of the unusual rainfall when she heard a huge crash and then a deafening thud. Then she got a text from a neighbor who said a Eucalyptus tree, more than 100 feet (30 meters) tall, had just fallen onto a condo across the street.
Flanigan, who called 911, later learned it landed on the bed of her neighbor’s 11-year-old son, who luckily was in another room.
“I’m sure they’re still terrified,” Flanigan said, adding that the mom and boy had gone to stay with relatives. “Removal crews came this morning and took off the branches, and it was very unnerving. Oh my gosh, what could have happened.”
Maura Taura felt a similar relief after a three-story-tall tree crashed down on her daughter’s two cars but missed the family’s house in the Sun Valley area of Los Angeles.
“Thank God my family is OK,” she said.
Firefighters use a skip loader to rescue a person from an assisted living center after the street was flooded with mud Monday in Cathedral City, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
TOPSHOT - Surfers and beach goers watch the waves from broken sand berms in Long Beach, California, on August 20, 2023, ahead of heavy rains from Tropical Storm Hilary. Hurricane Hilary weakened to a tropical storm on August 20, 2023, as it barreled up Mexico's Pacific coast, but was still likely to bring life-threatening flooding to the typically arid southwestern United States, forecasters said. Authorities reported at least one fatality in northwestern Mexico, where Hilary lashed the Baja California Peninsula with heavy rain and strong winds. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
A beach goer watches the waves from the shore in Long Beach, California, on August 20, 2023. Hurricane Hilary weakened to a tropical storm on August 20, 2023, as it barreled up Mexico's Pacific coast, but was still likely to bring life-threatening flooding to the typically arid southwestern United States, forecasters said. Authorities reported at least one fatality in northwestern Mexico, where Hilary lashed the Baja California Peninsula with heavy rain and strong winds. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
Patrick Brown holds his umbrella as he makes his way across a flooded intersection in Imperial Beach, California on August 20, 2023. Hurricane Hilary weakened to a tropical storm on August 20, 2023, as it barreled up Mexico's Pacific coast, but was still likely to bring life-threatening flooding to the typically arid southwestern United States, forecasters said. Authorities reported at least one fatality in northwestern Mexico, where Hilary lashed the Baja California Peninsula with heavy rain and strong winds. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
Motorists leave their vehicle stuck on a flooded road during heavy rains from Tropical Storm Hilary in Palm Springs, California, on August 20, 2023. Heavy rain lashed California on August 20 as Tropical Storm Hilary approached from Mexico, bringing warnings of potentially life-threatening flooding in the typically arid southwestern United States. (Photo by DAVID SWANSON / AFP) (Photo by DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images)
A cyclist and pedestrians cross a flooded street in Imperial Beach, California on August 20, 2023. Hurricane Hilary weakened to a tropical storm on August 20, 2023, as it barreled up Mexico's Pacific coast, but was still likely to bring life-threatening flooding to the typically arid southwestern United States, forecasters said. Authorities reported at least one fatality in northwestern Mexico, where Hilary lashed the Baja California Peninsula with heavy rain and strong winds. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
A city employee retrieves a propane tank from a flooded bridge as tropical storm Hilary makes landfall in Rancho Mirage, California on August, 20, 2023. Heavy rains lashed California as Tropical Storm Hilary raced in from Mexico, bringing warnings of potentially life-threatening flooding in the typically arid southwestern United States. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
CATHEDRAL CITY, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 20: A car is partially submerged in floodwaters as Tropical Storm Hilary moves through the area on August 20, 2023 in Cathedral City, California. Southern California is under a first-ever tropical storm warning as Hilary impacts parts of California, Arizona and Nevada. All California state beaches have been closed in San Diego and Orange counties in preparation for the impacts from the storm, which was downgraded from hurricane status. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
SUN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 20: A tow truck driver attempts to pull a stranded car out of floodwaters on the Golden State Freeway as tropical storm Hilary moves through the area on August 20, 2023 in Sun Valley, California. Southern California is under a first-ever tropical storm warning as Hilary impacts parts of California, Arizona and Nevada. All California state beaches have been closed in San Diego and Orange counties in preparation for the impacts from the storm which was downgraded from hurricane status. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
SUN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 21: A large eucalyptus tree branch rests on cars after falling overnight as tropical storm Hilary moved through the area on August 21, 2023 in Sun Valley, California. Much of Southern California and parts of Arizona and Nevada are cleaning up after being impacted by the tropical storm that brought several inches of rain that flooded roadways and winds that toppled trees and power lines across the region. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
An aerial image shows a man surveying debris following heavy rains from Tropical Storm Hilary, at Thurderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, on August 21, 2023. Tropical Storm Hilary drenched Southern California with record rainfall, shutting down schools, roads and businesses before edging in on Nevada on August 21, 2023. California Governor Gavin Newsom had declared a state of emergency over much of the typically dry area, where flash flood warnings remained in effect until this morning. (Photo by DAVID SWANSON / AFP) (Photo by DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images)
A worker from the Coachella Valley Water Department surveys the debris flow following heavy rains from Tropical Storm Hilary, at Thurderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, on August 21, 2023. Tropical Storm Hilary drenched Southern California with record rainfall, shutting down schools, roads and businesses before edging in on Nevada on August 21, 2023. California Governor Gavin Newsom had declared a state of emergency over much of the typically dry area, where flash flood warnings remained in effect until this morning. (Photo by DAVID SWANSON / AFP) (Photo by DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images)
An aerial image shows a debris flow following heavy rains from Tropical Storm Hilary, at Thurderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, on August 21, 2023. Tropical Storm Hilary drenched Southern California with record rainfall, shutting down schools, roads and businesses before edging in on Nevada on August 21, 2023. California Governor Gavin Newsom had declared a state of emergency over much of the typically dry area, where flash flood warnings remained in effect until this morning. (Photo by DAVID SWANSON / AFP) (Photo by DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Traffic is slowed as water and mud from Tropical Storm Hilary covers part of Interstate 10, between Indio and Palm Springs, California, on August 21, 2023. Tropical Storm Hilary drenched Southern California with record rainfall, shutting down schools, roads and businesses before edging in on Nevada on August 21, 2023. California Governor Gavin Newsom had declared a state of emergency over much of the typically dry area, where flash flood warnings remained in effect until this morning. (Photo by DAVID SWANSON / AFP) (Photo by DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images)
A man on his morning jog runs past a fallen tree resulting from Hurricane Hilary rainfall on August 21, 2023 in San Diego, California, where the center of the storm arrived sooner than expected and moved on further north towards Palm Springs. Tropical Storm Hilary drenched Southern California with record rainfall, shutting down schools, roads and businesses before edging in on Nevada on August 21, 2023. California Governor Gavin Newsom had declared a state of emergency over much of the typically dry area, where flash flood warnings remained in effect until this morning. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
Maura Taura surveys the damaged cause by a downed tree outside her home after Tropical Storm Hilary went through Monday, Aug. 21, 2023, in Sun Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
A plow clears debris along a flooded Sierra Highway in Palmdale, Calif., as Tropical Storm Hilary moves through the area on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
