The remnants of Hurricane Hilary pummeled the West Coast on Monday, drenching cities and unleashing dangerous flooding.
Southern California was released from a flood watch by midday, but they remained in effect across several Western states stretching nearly the length of the coastline, from California to Washington, and more inland including Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Idaho, according to the National Weather Service.
While rainfall in Southern California was expected to diminish Monday, Hilary, which was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, has slammed the area.
“There’s no way in or out of Palm Springs and that’s the case for the majority of the Coachella Valley. We’re all stuck. Our major freeway, I-10, is also closed in both directions. This is a very extreme situation at the moment,” Palm Springs Mayor Grace Garner said Monday.
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President Biden receiving briefings on storm Hilary
White House principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton told reporters aboard Air Force One that President Biden is receiving briefings about storm Hilary, which was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone.
Dalton and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell gaggled aboard Air Force One en route to Maui.
Flood watches shift northward with storm
As of 2 p.m. PDT, the National Hurricane Center said the remnants of Hilary were moving toward the northeast at 32 mph, motion expected to carry on through the evening.
Flood watches and wind warnings shifted from Monday morning, with Southern California no longer listed but including Northern California instead. Also under flood watches were: northwest Arizona, much of Nevada, southwest Utah, eastern Oregon, central and northern Idaho, and far southeast Washington.
High-wind warnings and wind advisories were in effect for northern and central Nevada, western Utah, southern Idaho and southwest Montana.
Boil water notice issued for Las Vegas’s Kyle Canyon Water District
A boil water notice has been issued in a Las Vegas district for customers of Kyle Canyon Water System as a result of an emergency water system outage caused by storm and flood water.
“Severe, overnight flooding on Mt. Charleston – and specifically within Kyle Canyon – caused a severe leak in the Kyle Canyon Water System, resulting in major reservoir tanks losing water pressure,” according to a recent release.
The Las Vegas Valley Water District has advised all Kyle Canyon customers to boil tap water before using it for drinking, food preparation, brushing teeth, washing dishes and making ice until further notice.
Oregon issues flood watch for parts of state
The Oregon Department of Emergency Management has issued a flood watch for parts of the state Monday.
Rainfall from the remnants of Tropical Storm Hilary is streaming into portions of eastern Oregon and far southeastern Washington this morning, according to an advisory. Flood watches remain in effect for Grant, Union, and Wallowa counties.
Post-Tropical Storm Hilary pushes into Nevada
As skies were clearing Monday in California, the National Weather Service warned of flooding underway in the Mount Charleston area of Clark County in Nevada, about 40 miles west of Las Vegas. Forecasters said the threat for flooding in states farther north on Monday was highest across much of southeastern Oregon into the west-central mountains of Idaho.
Remnants of the storm that first brought soaking rains to Mexico’s arid Baja California Peninsula and the border city of Tijuana were expected to linger at least through Tuesday morning.
– The Associated Press
Several California school districts and colleges closed Monday due to Tropical Storm Hilary
Several school districts and college campuses will be closed Monday due to the continuing impacts of Tropical Storm Hilary.
Here is a list of known closures but there are likely several others.
Forecasters say ‘virtually all’ daily rainfall records broken in Los Angeles
Forecasters in Los Angeles said Monday that “virtually all” of the city’s daily rainfall records have been broken as the storm Hilary, now a post-tropical cyclone, hit Southern California on Sunday, bringing historic rainfall, flooding and mudslides to the area.
The National Weather Service (NWS) of Los Angeles said totals for Hilary have broken “virtually all rainfall daily records,” as of 3 a.m. Monday.
Read the full story here.
Photos: Tropical Storm Hilary aftermath in California shows unprecedented flooding
Western US covered in weather watches
As of 8 a.m. PDT, the National Weather Service reported flood watches and high-wind warnings across great swaths of the West.
Flood watches were in effect for Southern California, northwest Arizona, much of Nevada, southwest Utah, eastern Oregon, western and central Idaho, and far southeast Washington.
High-wind warnings and wind advisories were in effect for northern and central Nevada, western Utah, southern Idaho and southwest Montana.