Tropical Storm Hilary made landfall on Mexico’s Baja peninsula and moved into Southern California with damaging wind and heavy rainfall on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. For the first time ever, the National Hurricane Center had issued a tropical storm watch for large parts of Southern California. Forecasters warned of a “potentially historic amount of rainfall,” and the governors of California and Nevada declared states of emergency.
Hurricane scientist Nick Grondin explained ahead of landfall why the storm, with help from El Niño and a heat dome over much of the country, could bring flash flooding, wind damage and mudslides to the region.
