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What was once Tropical Storm Hilary dumped nearly 8 inches of rain near Las Vegas, left roads covered in mud in Southern California and stranded residents in cut-off neighborhoods Monday.
(MORE: Here's Where This Storm Is Headed Next)
Here's a look at what happened as the storm continued to move west:
(4:45 p.m. ET) Heavy Rainfall Washes Out Roads Near Las Vegas
Nearly 8 inches of rain has fallen in Mt. Charleston, Nevada, near Las Vegas. Photos from the area show heavy damage to Kyle Canyon Road. This is the same area where Clark County officials earlier said residents were sheltering in place and the National Guard was on the way to assist.
(1:08 p.m. ET) Hilary Pumps Unusual Amount Of Moisture Into Soil
From weather.com senior digital meteorologist Chris Dolce: Soil moisture jumped much above average in the wake of Hilary over Southern California and much of Nevada, as depicted in the blue shadings on the right side of the map below. August is typically a dry time in Southern California, so this is unusual to see this time of year in that region.
(12:30 p.m. ET) Traffic Flowing Again On Portion Of Interstate 10
Video just posted to social media shows trucks and other vehicles moving slowly along a mud-coated Interstate 10 near Thousand Palms, California.
(12:25 p.m. ET) Vehicles Stuck In Deep Mud
Maintenance crews are clearing mud and debris from roads to reopen highways in Kern and Inyo counties, according to the California Department of Transportation. Drivers are warned not to drive around closures to avoid their vehicles getting stuck in the deep mud, like those in the photo below.
(12:12 p.m ET) Los Angeles: ‘There Have Not Been Any Deaths Or Significant Risk Of Injury’
“Reports thus far indicate that as of right now there have not been any deaths or significant risk of injury,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a press conference.
The Los Angeles Fire Department received a significant number of storm related calls for service and responded to 1,833 emergency incidents on Sunday. One person was rescued from a vehicle at a flooded intersection.
“We urge you to please continue to be cautious of hazardous road conditions, stay informed, slow down and be alert for hazards like our downed power lines and our flooded areas,” said Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristen Crowley.
(11:43 a.m ET) Hilary's Remnants Remain A Threat For Western U.S.
From weather.com meteorologists: It's important to note that the remnants of Hilary are still dangerous.
Additional rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches are possible in parts of Southern California and Nevada. There's also likely to be continued flash flooding, some locally catastrophic.
Rainfall totals of up to 3 inches are anticipated across portions of Oregon and Idaho, with up to 5 inches possible in some areas. Flash flooding may be significant.
Strong and gusty winds are possible in some areas on Monday, especially in and near areas of elevated terrain.
(11:31 a.m. ET) Wettest August Day On Record In San Diego
San Diego saw 1.82 inches of rain on Sunday, the most the California city has seen on an August day. The previous record was on Aug. 17, 1977, when 1.8 inches of rain fell on the area during the aftermath of Hurricane Dorine.
The San Diego Unified School District postponed the first day of school from Monday to Tuesday to assess storm damage.
(11:10 a.m. ET) Nevada National Guard En Route To Assist Las Vegas Area Neighborhood
There is substantial flooding in the old town area in Mt. Charleston, Nevada, which is near Las Vegas in Clark County. Residents are sheltering in place, some roads are closed, there is no power and the National Guard is on its way to assist, according to the most recent update from the county.
(10:44 a.m. ET) Next East Pacific Hurricane Would Be Named Irwin
The Eastern Pacific has a separate hurricane season from the Atlantic. That's due to differences in conditions including water temperatures and wind shear at different points in the summer. As we are seeing with Hilary, rainfall is typically the biggest impact of these storms on the U.S. West Coast and into the Southwest.
There are also different names for East Pac hurricanes. Click here to read more about the Eastern Pacific hurricane season.
(10:33 a.m. ET) Boil Water Notice In Las Vegas Area
The Las Vegas Valley Water District says customers of Kyle Canyon Water System should boil their tap water for at least three minutes before using it for drinking, food preparation, brushing teeth, washing dishes or making ice until further notice.
"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," the notice says.
"Heavy rains, flooding and roadway damage (are) limiting access to the area; however, Water District crews will remain on the mountain until repairs are complete."
(9:15 a.m. ET) New Images Show Scope Of Flooding In Southern California
You can see more photos here.
(8:30 a.m. ET) The Top Rain Totals From Hilary
-11.74 inches: Mount San Jacinto, California
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-11.73 inches: Raywood Flat, California
-9.67 inches: Heart Bar Campground, San Bernardino National Forest, California
Source: National Weather Service
(8 a.m. ET) Stay Out Of The Ocean For Three Days, LA Officials Warn
The County of Los Angeles Public Health Department declared an ocean water quality rain advisory, instructing all beachgoers to avoid contact with the water at all L.A. County beaches for at least 72 hours, according to a news release. The advisory will be in place through at least 9 a.m. local time Thursday and may be extended based on how long rain continues to fall.
(7:30 a.m. ET) Some Notables Out Of Southern California And Elsewhere
-Up to 2.89 inches of rain fell in parts of Death Valley National Park yesterday at Stovepipe Wells. That’s more than the park’s average annual rain of 2.2 inches. High temperature was just 82 degrees, which is more on par with the average in early November.
-For a time late yesterday, the center of Hilary was directly over Los Angeles.
-L.A. picked up 2.38 inches in their driest month of August, which averages 0.00 inches of rain.
-Southern California had its first tropical storm warning ever.
-While Southern California saw flooding, Yuma, Arizona, had blowing dust and wind gusts over 60 mph.
-Hilary is preliminarily the wettest tropical cyclone or remnant on record in Nevada.
(6:55 a.m. ET) 26 Years? 84 Years? Explaining the Nuance
It turns out Hilary didn't make landfall in California, so it wasn't quite the extreme rarity it was thought to be. Weather.com senior meteorologist Chris Dolce explains:
Hilary made landfall in Mexico’s northern Baja California Peninsula late Sunday morning. Landfall happens when the center of a tropical storm’s low-pressure system crosses a point over land from the ocean.
The storm’s center then tracked northward while inland over Mexico and across the Southern California border later Sunday. That means it's the first Eastern Pacific system to track into California while still categorized as a tropical storm in almost 26 years, since the former Hurricane Nora tracked near the Colorado River in California as a tropical storm in September 1997.
Since Hilary didn’t technically make landfall in California, the September 1939 tropical storm in the Los Angeles Basin remains as most recent storm to landfall in the state. Its center tracked directly into Southern California from the ocean.
(6:15 a.m. ET) Here's How Much Rain Fell In Death Valley
The notoriously dry Death Valley National Park was not spared by Hilary's heavy rainfall. According to weather historian Chris Burt:
"As of 9 p.m. PT Stovepipe Wells 2.41” since 4 a.m. (Sunday) with an incredible .73” of this in just the past ONE HOUR (8-9 p.m.).
Badwater at 1.79” during the same period.
Furnace Creek at 1.55” so far today.
This is catastrophic for (Death Valley)! Nothing like this ever in their history."
(5:50 a.m. ET) Mobile Home Park Flooded In Cathedral City
Reports from Cathedral City, California, revealed that as many as 50 mobile homes were flooded in a single neighborhood Sunday evening. Rescue crews evacuated several people and pets after they were trapped by the floodwaters, local reports said.
(5:30 a.m. ET) 911 Outages Reported In Several Cities
The New York Times reported that the Palm Springs 911 system was down late Sunday night local time. The city received half its annual rainfall in just a few hours' time.
911 service was also down in the cities of Cathedral City and Indio late Sunday night, the report added.
(5:05 a.m. ET) Over A Dozen Rescued In San Diego
San Diego Fire-Rescue crews pulled 13 people from knee-deep water in a homeless encampment Sunday night along the rising San Diego River.
No one was taken to a hospital, but a few people received medical attention at the site, according to SDFD. No other injuries were reported as of Sunday night.
Click here to read all of Sunday's updates.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
FAQs
How much rain did Las Vegas get with Hilary? ›
FAQs: How much rain did Las Vegas receive during Hurricane Hilary? Las Vegas experienced rainfall totals between 0.50″ and 1.5″.
Where are the remnants of tropical storm Hilary? ›Hilary's remnant kept moving north and, together with a deep plume of moisture, parts of Nevada, Oregon, Idaho and Montana were also hit by heavy rainfall. Up to 9 inches of rain in the mountains west of Las Vegas triggered damaging flash flooding to roads and some structures in Kyle Canyon.
How much rain did Death Valley get from the storm? ›“The remnants of Hurricane Hilary” brought 2.2 inches of rainfall in one day to Death Valley.
How much rain fell during Hurricane Hilary? ›Rainfall totals from Hilary have reached 13.5 inches in San Bernardino County, and 11.7 inches in the mountains of Riverside County. Los Angeles County recorded over 7 inches of rain.
Did Hilary affect Lake Mead water level? ›“Although every drop counts, the reality is that the rain we received from Tropical Storm Hilary and runoff into the tributaries that enter Lake Mead as well as reduced releases from Hoover Dam — due to a decrease in downstream demand — has had some minor impact on the lake's elevation,” according to U.S. Bureau of ...
How much of 7 Days to Vegas is true? ›This Van Patten family project is based on a true incident that happened to star Vincent Van Patten back in the 90s. He did actually make a bert he could walk from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in 7 days. vince wrote the script allegedly based on some Hollywood characters he knew.