....Hurricane Hilary......tropical storm now but should strengthen to hurricane...



It’s been 83 years since a tropical storm hit Southern California. Hilary may change that

.....A tropical storm brewing off Mexico’s Pacific coast could slam Southern California and the southwestern U.S. this weekend, potentially bringing significant rains, rough surf and dangerous winds.

Forecasters warn that it’s still too soon to confirm when, or if, Tropical Storm Hilary might make landfall, and how strong the system could be at that point. But current projections show the storm is expected to soon reach hurricane strength and could reach the Baja California peninsula by late Sunday.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty with the storm track and the intensity of the storm, but we will likely see some impacts,” said Eric Boldt, the warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “We have to be prepared for the potential for very heavy rain, very strong winds, storm surge, large waves … This is a potentially high-impact event.”

It’s still too early to predict the likelihood that a tropical storm-strength system touches down in Southern California, something the region hasn’t seen in more than 80 years, according to the National Weather Service.

It’s “really an unusual event overall,” Boldt said.

The last such storm — nicknamed El Cordonazo or The Lash of St. Francis — hit Long Beach in September 1939, drenching the region and knocking out power. Almost four dozen people died and about the same number were reported lost at sea, according to archival coverage from The Times and The San Diego Union-Tribune.

No matter Hilary’s final track or intensity, Boldt warned of dangerous conditions in the Southland’s coastal waters, and said that “almost any location” across southwest California should expect up to 2 inches of rain by the end of this weekend. Eastern Los Angeles County could see rain as early as Sunday afternoon, with the heaviest rain expected Monday across the region, Boldt said.

Some areas could see up to 5 inches of rain “depending on the track and the speed of this storm system,” he added in a Wednesday afternoon briefing.

“Tropical storm conditions could begin as early as Sunday” in Southern California, Boldt said. However, it’s most likely that high winds and rains would start later Sunday or Monday morning — which is as far as current projections go.

But even beyond Monday, Boldt said the region should expect rainy conditions to linger.

“We could still continue to see heavy thunderstorm activity,” he said.

Projections show a small chance of tropical storm-force winds — sustained at around 35 mph, with gusts much higher — reaching coastal Los Angeles County and just offshore this weekend.

“Now’s the time to start preparing for all these different potential impacts, especially the heavy rainfall,” Boldt said.

While late summer rainfall is rare in Southern California, Boldt said forecasters believe area riverbeds and dry ground will be able to absorb much of the precipitation, though flash floods could become a concern depending on the speed of the rainfall.

Early effects from the storm could be felt as early as Thursday, when temperatures should begin to slightly dip as humidity increases, said David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard......


........here I am.......rock you like a.........hurricane.........?!

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2023 09:56PM by NewtonMP2100.

We got a bit of annoying rain last night..... just enough to wake you up and let you know it was raining.
Dried up quickly in the morning sun.
I guess we'll see what Hilary brings in the coming days....
OTOH, lit'l bro is in Cabo for another couple of days, looks like he'll get out just in time on Friday.
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Grandson relocating from SoCal to Colorado moved the departure from Sun to tomorrow. Mountain and desert areas are due for a substantial hit and not a place to be this weekend.

Great. I left Florida for San Diego yesterday. The last thing I expected was to go into a hurricane!

To placate the legal department of the University of Miami ™ we do cyclones in place of hurricanes.

Hurkin'