Hilary has been downgraded to a tropical storm as Southern California braces for potential destructive flash flooding and strong winds Sunday.
As of 11 a.m. ET, Hilary was moving northwest, after whirling off the coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, sustaining winds of 70 mph that are expected to weaken by the time it reaches the Golden State.
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Hilary has weakened to a Tropical Strom and is expected to make it into SoCal this afternoon. Expect periods of heavy rain; areas of flooding especially in the mtns and deserts; and strong winds especially in San Diego Co, east Inland Empire, mtns, and deserts. Be safe!#CAwx pic.twitter.com/TNXEfzFgV4
— NWS San Diego (@NWSSanDiego) August 20, 2023
“On the forecast track, the center of Hilary will move near or over the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula during the next few hours, and then move across southern California this afternoon,” the National Hurricane Center reported.
A state of emergency was declared across most of Southern California on Saturday as residents of San Diego and Los Angeles prepare for the first tropical storm to enter the area since 1939. The National Weather Service issued the region’s first-ever tropical storm watch this weekend.
“The potentially historic amount of rainfall is expected to cause life-threatening to locally catastrophic flash, urban, and arroyo flooding including landslides, mudslides, and debris flows through early Monday morning,” the National Weather Service said.
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On Saturday evening, the National Hurricane Center determined that Hilary is a Category 1 storm after steadily downgrading since Friday when Hurricane Hilary grew rapidly into a Category 4.
Strong winds brewed in Crestwood in the San Diego County mountains and Fremont Canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains early Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service of San Diego.