3:15 p.m. Monday update
Hilary set the record for the most rain from a tropical system in Nevada.
Data from NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center said a 116-year-old record was broken in Lee Canyon, NV, which received 8.7 inches from the storm.
Meanwhile, the California Angeles postponed their Monday night game with the Cincinnati Reds because of the storm. The game was rescheduled as part of a doubleheader on Wednesday.
2:45 p.m. Monday
The National Weather Service announced record rainfall amounts for the Los Angeles region.
The highest rainfall total was recorded over a two-day period ending at 7 a.m. PT Monday was at Mount Wilson, where the NWS reported 8.56 inches of rain.
About 3.5 inches fell in Santa Monica, and 3 inches downtown Los Angeles.
Nearly 6 inches fell in East Pasadena, the weather service said.
1:30 p.m.
Palm Spring, CA, Mayor Grace Garner asked residents to stay home Monday after the resort town was deluged by rain from the remnants of Tropical Storm Hilary.
“There is no way in or out of Palm Springs,” Garner said in an interview with CNN.
On NBC News, Garner said 911 lines remain down and residents should text 911 if needed.
12:45 p.m.
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines said its schedule is getting back to normal in California and the Southwest, including the cities of San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.
“Our teams continue monitoring the progress of the storm,” Southwest said in a statement to The Dallas Express. “As California’s largest carrier, we made proactive adjustments to our flight schedule throughout the weekend and communicated those with the customers affected by them.”
“We’re continually in this process when there are weather challenges but, ostensibly, for Hilary, we’re returning to a normal operation here in the coming couple of hours and will have our full schedule to assist and accommodate any customers whose travel plans were impacted by the storm,” it added.
10 a.m.
Tropical Storm Hilary weakened Monday after pounding Southern California, Nevada, and other parts of the Southwest with rain over the weekend.
The storm is expected to dissipate, but only after dropping another 4 inches of rain in parts of California and Nevada, meteorologists said.
No immediate reports of deaths or injuries surfaced, the San Diego Union-Tribune and Los Angeles Times reported.
The storm arrived in San Diego around 2:30 p.m. PT on Sunday before curving toward Palm Springs, the National Weather Service told the Union-Tribune. It was the first tropical storm to hit San Diego and Los Angeles in more than 83 years.
Hilary made initial landfall south of Ensenada, Mexico, at about 11 a.m. Sunday, the newspaper reported.
President Joe Biden spoke with California Gov. Gavin Newsom about emergency preparedness on Sunday.
“My Administration stands ready to provide additional assistance as requested,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House. “I urge people to take this storm seriously, and listen to state and local officials.”
Rainfall totals varied. Mount Laguna, east of San Diego, recorded 6 inches of rain before dark, the newspaper reported. San Diego International Airport received 1.06 inches on Sunday, exceeding in one afternoon the usual August average of 0.01. The airport canceled more than 200 flights.
Parts of Los Angeles County received almost 7 inches of rain, USA Today reported. Beverly Hills had almost 5 inches by early Monday, the newspaper added.
Despite seeing some trees toppled and intersections flooded, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) reported it was similar to a normal rainy day.
“I think a lot of people have chosen to stay home and avoid travel, which is helping,” CHP Officer Mark Latulippe told the Union-Tribune.
In Los Angeles, record rainfall turned streets into muddy, debris-swollen rivers, the LA Times reported. Thousands of residents in the region lost power, the newspaper said.
Hilary was downgraded to a post-tropical storm on Monday morning. Still, the weather service forecast it could bring “catastrophic and life-threatening flooding” to the Southwest, the National Hurricane Center said.
Southern California has been freed from drought conditions by rain and snow in the last three years, The New York Times reported.
Airline flights from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Love Field were impacted only slightly by tropical storm Hilary’s push through San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and cities in the Southwest. Some flights to and from San Diego on Sunday afternoon and night were canceled.
Flights going to and arriving from Las Vegas were delayed by 30 minutes on Monday morning. Flight Aware reported 53 cancellations and 94 delays out of Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Review-Journal said.
