December 23, 2024

Torrential Rain: Hilary Soaks the Southwest

Hilary deteriorated to a tropical storm before it came ashore on the northern end of the peninsula at around 11 a.m. Pacific Time on August 20, 2023. Data for the map were gotten in between 5 p.m. Pacific Time on August 19 and 2 p.m. Pacific Time on August 20, as the center of the storm was approaching Southern California.
On the map, the darkest reds reflect the highest rains rates, with the Baja California peninsula seeing the heaviest rains during this time. August 20 was the wettest August day on record for both downtown Los Angeles and San Diego, according to the National Weather Service.

Satellite Data and Record Rainfalls
The map above portrays a satellite-based price quote of the storms rainfall rates. (Click the image for a high-resolution view.) Information for the map were gotten between 5 p.m. Pacific Time on August 19 and 2 p.m. Pacific Time on August 20, as the center of the storm was approaching Southern California.
On the map, the darkest reds show the greatest rains rates, with the Baja California peninsula seeing the heaviest rains during this time. The data are remotely noticed estimates that come from the Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG), an item of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite mission. Due to the averaging of the satellite information, local rainfall rates may be considerably greater when measured from the ground.
August 20 was the wettest August day on record for both downtown Los Angeles and San Diego, according to the National Weather Service. They got 2.5 inches (6.3 centimeters) and 1.8 inches (4.6 centimeters) of rain, respectively. The storm also brought wind gusts of 70 miles (113 kilometers) per hour to parts of California, overturning trees and power lines, and supposedly leaving 40,000 homeowners without power. Death Valley National Park closed due to flooding, and several roadways were also flooded and harmed in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Influence On Dry Desert Regions
So far, some of the hardest-hit locations in the U.S. have actually been the typically dry desert regions of Southern California. Streets turned into rivers of mud in Palm Springs after the city got 6 months of rain over six hours. Flooding also closed roadways in Coachella Valley, consisting of I-10, the major highway in the region.
In Southern California, August is usually a dry month, however the surface layers of soil can respond rapidly to weather events. Researchers at NASAs Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center (SPoRT) anticipated that rain from the storm could fill soils in the region for numerous days.
Hilary continued to move north into Oregon and Idaho on August 21, where rains totals of approximately 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) were prepared for in places, with capacity for flash flooding.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using IMERG data from the Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) at NASA/GSFC.

Quote of Hilarys rains rates on August 20, 2023, according to satellite data.
The storm provided torrential rain to parts of Southern California, Nevada, and Mexico, leaving flooded streets and power outages in its wake.
Once an effective category 4 hurricane, Hilary deteriorated and made landfall in northern Mexico on August 20, 2023, assailing the Baja California peninsula and 2 U.S. states with rain.
Before making landfall, Hilary provided downpour to Santa Rosalía in Mexicos state of Baja California Sur. A single person was killed by the floodwater, according to authorities. Hilary deteriorated to a hurricane before it came ashore on the northern end of the peninsula at around 11 a.m. Pacific Time on August 20, 2023. As the storm moved inland over Southern California, it left flooding, mudslides, and power failures behind.