Yesterday, as I did my weekly grocery run at a store near my San Diego home, I noted that the lines were long, and the cases of water were rolling out the door steadily. While not quite the same level as the covid-induced panic buying of March 2020, Southern Californians were certainly preparing for the arrival of Tropical Storm Hilary, which had been a hurricane until it hit the Baja peninsula on Sunday morning.
Presently, my area is experiencing light winds and steady rain, which is a far cry from the massive hurricane the media was preparing us for Friday.
Forecasters say light rains are anticipated Saturday night and will progress into the morning.
The eye of the storm is projected to hit between 3 p.m. Sunday and 6 p.m. As the storm moves through, heavy rains will come in followed by strong winds of 50 mph sustained in San Diego and up to 70 mph in the mountains. Excessive flooding is expected. San Diego County was expected to begin feeling the headwinds of Hurricane Hilary late Saturday, ahead of widespread rain and wind Sunday and Monday, according to city officials.Hilary was at Category 2 strength Saturday afternoon off the coast of Baja California and was expected to further weaken to a tropical storm by the time it reaches Southern California, but forecasters say the storm will still pack quite a punch.“Heavy rainfall leading to areas of flash flooding is expected through the afternoon in our mountain and desert areas,” the National Weather Service’s San Diego office said Saturday. “Chances of widespread, heavy rain will continue into Sunday, when heavier and more widespread rain is expected.”
While the City of San Diego is not likely to be terribly impacted by the storm, the nearby mountain and desert areas are being hit with floods.
The Coachella Valley — which remains under an unprecedented tropical storm warning — is experiencing heavy rain and flooding as Tropical Storm Hilary churns through the region on Sunday afternoon.At 5 p.m., the National Hurricane Center reported the center of Tropical Storm Hilary was located 25 miles south-southwest of Palm Springs and moving north at 23 mph.As Hilary moved closer to the Coachella Valley, strong winds have picked up. Palm Desert reported a peak wind gust of 46 mph at 4:20 p.m.Palm Springs International Airport had a top wind gust of 40 mph at 3:40 p.m.
Of course, The Los Angeles Times was quick to connect with climate change cultists for comments about the storm. The article made it seem that tropical storms slamming the area were practically unknown and that the waters around Southern California were essentially hurricane-free.
But globally, July set a record for the highest monthly ocean surface temperature in NOAA’s 174-year history. And specifically, ocean temperatures off the coast of Baja California are higher than normal, due to the warming effects of El Niño and the proliferation of fossil fuel emissions.“Over the last 40 years, climate change has made hurricanes more powerful, both in terms of wind speed and the amount of water they deliver as rain,” said Kristy Dahl, principal climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Massachusetts. “To see a storm of this magnitude in this part of the world — and at this time of year — is highly unusual.”
However, a check of actual historical records indicates that the region has been hit with tropical storms in the past.
And the region has had several close-calls with hurricanes before automobiles were in use.
- After October 1854: A system considered to be a tropical cyclone made landfall over Northern California, just north of the Golden Gate.
- October 2, 1858: The 1858 San Diego hurricane passed very close to Southern California. It brought several hours of hurricane and gale-force winds to an area stretching from San Diego to Los Angeles. This storm was reconstructed as just missing making landfall, dissipating offshore.
- Sometime before October 14, 1858: Since this tropical cyclone is reported in a newspaper as being only “one of the most terrific and violent hurricanes ever noted”, the report may imply the existence of an earlier hurricane in southern California. Other than occurring before the newspaper account was published (October 18, 1858), everything else about this “hurricane”, including whether it even existed, is unknown.
- Before June or after October 1859: A system considered to be a tropical cyclone made landfall between Cape Mendocino and San Francisco Bay.
The media, once again, pushes hysteria-focused pseudoscience narratives. Meanwhile, the people of Southern California are clearly taking care of business, and hopefully the damage will be minimal.
Finally, a big thank you to everyone who texted and emailed me. My family and I are just fine…just a little wet.
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