Hurricane Hilary Hits Category 4; First Tropical Storm Watch for California in History

Hurricane Hilary reached Category 4 status on Friday morning, and the National Hurricane Center issued its first-ever tropical storm watch for Southern California, as the entire southwestern region braces for heavy rains, high surf, and flash flooding.

11:40 AM: ABC News reports Hilary has been downgraded to a Category 3 storm.

Saturday 8:40AM: Hilary remains a Category 4 storm as of Saturday morning with winds up to 130MPH.

Hurricane #Hilary remains a Category 4 storm, with winds at 130 mph. 

In the Southwest U.S., flash flooding is expected, with dangerous and locally catastrophic impacts likely from tonight into Monday! We’re LIVE getting you ready. pic.twitter.com/nhynLdIM9A

— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) August 19, 2023

Update: The tropical storm watch was extended to all of Los Angeles County, and much of Ventura County, as of 3 p.m. PST Friday.

The Tropical Strom Watch has been expanded to include ALL of LOS ANGELES County, as well as mountains, valley and foothills of Ventura County. pic.twitter.com/zL6SX9vO50

— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) August 18, 2023

The storm, off the west coast of Mexico and moving northwards as of midday Friday, has maximum sustained winds of 145 miles per hour. Hurricane watches have been issued for Baja California, and a tropical storm watch for San Diego and Orange counties.

NBC News noted:

A tropical storm watch is now in effect from the California-Mexico border to the county lines between Orange and Los Angeles counties, as well as for Catalina Island, the National Hurricane Center announced this morning.

This is the first time the NHC has issued a tropical storm watch for this region of the country.

Heavy rainfall is also expected, especially in the inland mountains and desert regions, which are normally dry this time of year.

Heavy rain associated with Hurricane Hilary is expected to spread into the SW and western U.S. this weekend/early next week. Rainfall totals of 3-6" (isolated amounts up to 10") are forecast across portions of southern CA and southern NV, which would lead to significant impacts. pic.twitter.com/Iq2uVDvMTq

— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) August 18, 2023

As alluded to from the Excessive Rainfall graphic, very heavy rainfall looks to target the mountains and deserts Saturday through Monday. Isolated areas in the mountains could receive 10+ inches of rainfall! #CAwx #Hilary pic.twitter.com/ZHOahei0tB

— NWS San Diego (@NWSSanDiego) August 18, 2023

Today's High Risk issuance in our Excessive Rainfall Outlook is the first one on record (to at least 2010) east of the mountains and in the low deserts of southern California. Explore the ERO in more detail using our interactive web page here: https://t.co/cfgBoWziaI pic.twitter.com/cCgepmmCaQ

— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) August 18, 2023

Hurricanes commonly form in August and September off the Mexican coast, bringing warm water and humid air to Southern California, but the storms themselves rarely move north. Most move west across the Pacific Ocean without hitting California.

It is not clear where the hurricane will make landfall, but officials expect it to weaken by the time it nears the U.S. Rains are expected in interior regions by Saturday, and at the coast on Sunday, continuing into early next week as the storm moves north.

Hilary will be the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, since “El Cordonazo” in 1939, before the contemporary naming conventions of storms began. The last hurricane to make landfall in Southern California arrived in 1858.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.