Fears of Catastrophe as Hilary Approaches California
Water is going to be the biggest problem with Hilary.
Atmospheric moisture will exceed record levels in Southern California.
The flooding will be devastating – landslides washing away homes, rivers & streams turning into torrents, and significant risks to life and property 🚨 pic.twitter.com/hs88xuoeWD
A tropical storm warning is in effect for coastal and inland Southern California, including San Diego and Los Angeles, — the first such warning issued for this location by the National Hurricane Center. Baja California is expected to see hurricane conditions by Saturday evening.
Forecasters are not mincing words when it comes to the danger the storm poses, particularly for flooding. And authorities are urging preparation.
“Catastrophic and life-threatening flooding is likely over Baja California and the Southwestern U.S. through Monday,” the National Hurricane Center warned Saturday.
Rainfall was already underway in the region in advance of Hilary. A number of flash flood warnings were issued Friday night in the border region of California and Arizona. Several inches of rain fell in some locations, leading to road closures due to high water near Needles and Lake Havasu. Additional warnings were in effect Saturday morning east of San Diego.
The current rainfall is not directly due to Hilary, but influenced by it through something called a predecessor rain event. They form well to the north of a tropical system, often in an area where the storm will later track.
In a briefing Friday, UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain called the storm “a remarkable, rare, historic event for California” that could produce severe and even disastrous impacts for the state’s southeastern desert interior. Both desert and mountainous areas of southern and central Nevada should brace for serious effects as well.
Of course the major issue is that we are forcing heavy rain (a year’s worth in a day in some spots), into hilly/ mountainous terrain, in an area where the desert-like land is not equipped to absorb the heavy rainfall. So it runs off and causes life-threatening flash flooding.
Another note: the purple moisture belt over the Equatorial Pacific is the Intertropical Convergence Zone. It’s always there… moves slightly north and south with the seasons. Hilary’s connection to it provides copious moisture.
The tropical moisture conveyor belt – Atmospheric River – connected to Hurricane #Hilary is extraordinarily long (purple belt), spanning much of the Equatorial Pacific, is fed by warm El Nino waters. Hilary is consolidating it & propelling it north into SoCal. 1/ pic.twitter.com/PhGrlPcuRZ
Total Precipitable Water of #HurricaneHilary confirms flooding concerns for Mexico's Baja Peninsula and the southwest United States. Flood Watches are in effect as far north as Idaho and eastern Oregon which is unique for a Pacific Hurricane. Could even erase remaining #drought. pic.twitter.com/1K0C74xmte
One thought on “Fears of Catastrophe as Hilary Approaches California”
This is what it’s gonna’ take to galvanize action: a mass destructive quite possibly mass casualty event. We (don’t) see these things around the world (though) they happen all the time. Needs to happen here to get ‘Muircans’ attention
This is what it’s gonna’ take to galvanize action: a mass destructive quite possibly mass casualty event. We (don’t) see these things around the world (though) they happen all the time. Needs to happen here to get ‘Muircans’ attention
SoCal is certainly an attention-getter …