In Southern California, we see hurricanes on the news and watch with concern, but never for ourselves. That changed as Hurricane Hilary made its way toward the west coast. The threat of a hurricane in the state was surreal. This is earthquake country; we don’t get hurricanes! Well, on Sunday, August 20, 2023, not only did Hilary hit as a tropical storm in Southern California, but we had an earthquake on the same day.
As the storm moved toward San Diego, California was issued its first tropical storm warning ever. Flash flood warnings and alerts flashed on our televisions and cell phones several times before and during the storm, and residents were advised to stay away from beaches from San Diego all the way up the coast.
There have been other tropical storms, or cyclones, that have affected SoCal, but due to the relatively cool ocean waters that cause the storms to lose their strength, it is usually just remnants of an off-shore storm that bring some extra wind and rain, but nothing catastrophic.
Various organizations and residents worked to fill and distribute sandbags, some areas were evacuated, and a state of emergency was proclaimed by the Governor of California.
News stations throughout the state showed Californian’s bracing for the hurricane, unsure of how severe it would be:
When Hilary finally did hit land, it was still a full hurricane and struck the Baja California Peninsula before battering Southern California as a tropical storm. As predicted, the storm did wreak havoc, especially in desert and mountain areas where at least a year’s worth of rain fell in a matter of hours.
Here on the coast, we had some large swells, strong winds, and heavy rain, but the hardest-hit areas were more inland where there were severe flooding and devastating mudslides.
Though there were no fatalities in Southern California, there were some locals stuck in vehicles in suddenly flooded areas, and at least one home required a bulldozer to pull elderly residents from a care home due to mud surrounding the structure.
Downed power lines, road and rail closures, massive trees falling, and the potential for even more landslides being triggered were consequences that would take time to resolve.
Of course, Southern California was not the only state affected. Though continuing to lose strength, the remnants of Hurricane Hilary brought heavy rains to Northern California as well as other states such as Oregon, Nevada, and Idaho.
You can see one news report following the onslaught of the storm in this video:
I mentioned that this is earthquake country, right? Well, as if the wild, historic storm was not enough, we also rode out a 5.1 earthquake on the same day, with several aftershocks.
Considered a moderate earthquake, it was centered near the town of Ojai (in northern Ventura County) and felt at least as far as southern Los Angeles. It knocked items off of shelves and rattled nerves that were already understandably a bit raw.
We have to deal with a lot of things in SoCal, from droughts to wildfires to earthquakes, but with this storm, history was made here, and not in a good way. Were you or your family affected by tropical storm Hilary? Did you feel the earthquake? We would definitely like to hear from you in the comments.
This may have been the first tropical storm to strike SoCal in nearly a century, but due to warming ocean temperatures in the Pacific, it may very well become more common. This was a good reminder to all of us to have our emergency supplies in order, from food and water to things like this crank radio flashlight. You never really know what to expect. SoCal has had a few other record-breaking weather events, such as the record snowfall in January 1949. Did you know about this epic snowstorm in LA?
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