This is the latest video issued on August 18 for Hurricane Hilary and the first-ever Tropical Storm Watch for the southland.
A flood Watch is in effect for excessive rainfall starting Saturday, centered on Sunday and Sunday night. High winds and heavy rain could cause major impacts across any part of southern California. Flash, urban, and arroyo flooding is expected, with dangerous and locally catastrophic impacts likely.
Wind’s expected to be 40 to 60 mph. San Diego Coastlines will be affected. Large swells will affect portions of southern California over the next few days. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Areas in the deserts and mountains could see 80 mph. Mixed with rain, possibly a year’s worth of rain may fall in the deserts.
Locally, we may experience winds up to 50 mph, which could affect electric lines and downed trees. Rainfall could start today, Saturday, but Sunday is when most of the rain is expected to fall. Rain could be 2 to 5 inches with up to 10 inches possible in the local mountains.
The NWS reminds people to make sure they are monitoring the latest forecasts from official sources the (National Hurricane Center and the National Weather Service)”
It’s also prudent to be aware of downed power lines and trees, stay away from waterways and have extra bottled water and some food on hand as well as first-aid supplies. Minimize travel and if needed, sandbags are available at some local fire stations. To find your local fire station, go to RivCoReady.org.
Here is the message from the National Weather Service Prediction Center
Sat Aug 19 2023 – 12Z Mon Aug 21 2023 …Catastrophic and life-threatening flooding likely over portions of the Southwest… …Dangerous heat expanding over the central U.S….. Hurricane Hilary has now turned north-northwestward and is forecast to track near Baja California before making landfall near the U.S.-Mexico border later this weekend. Heavy rainfall associated with the system is forecast to develop across the southwestern U.S. today, well in advance of the storm’s center, and continue through the weekend, with the heaviest amounts expected on Sunday.
Highly anomalous moisture transport into the region will support rainfall amounts exceeding the average annual totals for some locations in the Southwest. Flash, urban, and arroyo flooding is expected, with dangerous and locally catastrophic impacts likely. In addition to flooding rains, Hilary is forecast to bring tropical storm conditions to portions of southern California on Sunday. Large swells will affect portions of southern California over the next few days. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Widespread cloud cover will keep temperatures below average, with unseasonably cool temperatures forecast to expand northward from southern California and western Arizona into the Sierra Nevada and the Great Basin through the weekend. In contrast to the temperatures in the West, dangerous heat will continue to intensify and expand, with well above-normal to record-breaking temperatures forecast across the Plains and lower Mississippi Valley today. The heat wave will continue to expand on Sunday to include more of the Midwest on Sunday. This weekend, some locations in the Midwest may experience their hottest day of the year. The prolonged nature of the heat wave, combined with very warm overnight temperatures, will limit relief from the oppressive daytime temperatures and compound the overall heat impacts. A relatively quiet period is expected for much of the eastern U.S., with shower and thunderstorms confined mainly to Florida and the Southeast coast. After another day of seasonal to below-average temperatures today, summer heat is forecast to return to much of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states on Sunday.
