🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Meteorologists are warning of a "life-threatening disaster" in Southern California and southwest Nevada as Hurricane Hilary barrels toward the West Coast.
As a tropical storm, Hilary formed early Wednesday and intensified into a hurricane by Thursday morning. It strengthened to a Category 4 early Friday morning, with sustained wind speeds of 140 miles per hour. Winds are expected to weaken before hitting Mexico's Baja California Peninsula by this weekend.
Forecast models show the storm hitting inland California as a tropical storm overnight Sunday and into Monday. Meteorologists have been closely monitoring Hilary which could be the first tropical storm to make landfall in California with hurricane-force winds in recorded history.
The storm could dump up to 8 inches of rain in desert areas in Southern California and far southwest Nevada once it moves further inland, an AccuWeather forecast reported. The worst of the rain is expected east of Palm Springs, California, and north toward Death Valley. In some areas, desert cities could receive their annual allotment of rain in just 24 to 48 hours.
The incoming storm prompted the National Weather Service to say Friday there is a high risk of excessive rainfall for the low deserts to the eastern slopes of the mountains in Southern California, including areas like Palm Springs, Death Valley and Las Vegas. It is the first time in recorded history that the NWS has issued such an advisory for the area, AccuWeather said.
Previously, 2 to 4 inches of rain was forecast for Palm Springs, threatening to reach 20 times the normal August amount. Now, the forecast has doubled, increasing the risk of "numerous washouts and mudslides," according to AccuWeather.
In an average year, Palm Springs receives 5.1 inches of rain.
The AccuWeather forecast warned that the "rare and unprecedented" storm will have an extraordinary impact. Rain is expected to fall rapidly at times, placing a significant strain on infrastructure such as interstates and rail lines.
"This infrastructure may not be able to handle the historic rain amounts which have the potential to surpass the yearly historical average in just a few days," the forecast said.
Newsweek reached out to AccuWeather by email for comment.
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty previously told Newsweek that many of the desert areas expected to receive significant rain aren't densely populated. Palm Springs is home to just over 45,000 people, according to 2020 census data.
"The worst impacts will be in places that don't have a lot of people," he said.
However, nearly the entire southern half of California is expected to receive some sort of rainfall from Hurricane Hilary, according to a National Hurricane Center forecast. Rainfall forecasts range from 1 to 4 inches for much of Southern California and Nevada, although heavier totals surpassing 10 inches are forecast for some areas, including Los Angeles. The greatest flash flood risk is for San Diego and Los Angeles.
Although the rain poses the threat of landslides and flash floods, especially in California mountain ranges, the storm could prove beneficial in combating wildfires by dampening fuel in the Agua Fire as well as the York Fire, which has burned 93,000 acres since it started in southeastern California in late July.
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
About the writer
Anna Skinner is a Newsweek senior reporter based in Indianapolis. Her focus is reporting on the climate, environment and weather ... Read more
