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, according to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

The local NWS said 7.04 inches of rain fell in Lewis Ranch over a two-day period, while Lake Palmdale had 5.98 inches and the University of California, Los Angeles, had 4.26. 

The storm made landfall Sunday along Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, around 150 miles south of Ensenada, Mexico. As it moved through Tijuana on Sunday, improvised homes on the hillsides south of the U.S. border were threatened by the flooding. By Sunday night, the storm moved over San Diego and north toward inland desert areas. 

Hilary is the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, bringing with it more than half of the state’s yearly rain average.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami downgraded the storm Monday morning, though “life-threatening and locally catastrophic flooding” is still expected in parts of the southwestern U.S. Another 2-4 inches of rain is expected in parts of Southern California and southern Nevada on Monday, which would bring its total rainfall amounts to 12 inches, the National Hurricane Center said. 

The storm has flooded roadways, downed trees and prompted mudslides in parts of Southern California, where photos showed cars stranded in the middle of roads. Some parts of the area experienced power outages as a result, with the city of Palm Springs reporting the 911 system was down. 

The NWS of Los Angeles urged drivers against going in the roadways, even in areas where rainfall has stopped.

“While it may not currently be raining in my locations in VENTURA COUNTY, many roadways remain hazardous due to runoff from previous rainfall. Especially in CAMARILLO, THOUSAND OAKS, SIMI VALLEY, and FILMORE,” the NWS of Los Angeles wrote in a post of X.

All coastal warnings were discontinued Monday, and the National Hurricane Center said the storm is expected to dissipate later in the day.