Hilary Smashes Rainfall Records, Fuels Flash Floods Across Southern California

Punishing downpours continued to slam Southern California on Monday after Tropical Storm Hilary – the weakened-but-still-potent remains of what had been a hurricane – made landfall Sunday in Southern California, prompting downpours and flooding. According to the National Weather Service in Los Angeles, “all rainfall daily records have been broken.”

The brunt of the storm pounded the Los Angeles area Sunday and National Weather Service meteorologist Lisa Phillips said showers will continue into Monday before the precipitation begins to taper off.

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Some of the record rainfall totals as of 3 a.m. PT:

HOLLYWOOD RESERVOIR…………… 4.29
BEVERLY HILLS………………… 4.08
BEL AIR……………………… 3.13
CULVER CITY………………….. 3.01
SANTA MONICA (KSMO)…………… 2.82
LONG BEACH (KLGB)…………….. 2.45
LA DOWNTOWN (CQT)…………….. 2.38
LA AIRPORT(KLAX)……………… 2.16

EAST PASADENA………………… 5.21
EAGLE ROCK RESERVOIR………….. 4.29
LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE………….. 4.24
VAN NUYS (KVNY)………………. 4.20
NORTHRIDGE…………………… 4.00
BURBANK (KBUR)……………….. 3.47

SAUGUS………………………. 6.45
LAKE PALMDALE………………… 5.98
NEWHALL……………………… 5.59

STUNT RANCH………………….. 4.45
CALABASAS……………………. 3.70
MOORPARK…………………….. 3.58
CIRCLE X RANCH……………….. 3.50
THOUSAND OAKS………………… 3.29

Those totals prompted a flash flood warning that flashed across phone screens from Malibu to Pomona in the west and east and from Lancaster to Inglewood, north to south. It was extended early this morning and currently expires at 8 a.m.

Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said that as of 4 p.m. Sunday, there had been no reports of injuries or major damage stemming from the storm, but she said there were more than a dozen reports of flooding across the city, and more than 5,000 Department of Water and Power customers had lost electricity, with Boyle Heights and Hollywood among the hardest-hit areas. Videos posted online showed the Melrose area flooded.

According to Crowley, there were reports of some power lines down, and a pair of debris flows were reported in the Sherman Oaks area, but with no structural damage. She said residents of a Koreatown apartment building reported a partial roof collapse.

Two cars were spotted in an inundated flood control channel near Lincoln Heights, but nobody was found inside or near the vehicles, Crowley said. Crews surveying the area from a helicopter spotted a person in the water further down the river outside the city limits, and county crews conducted a swift-water rescue.

In Santa Monica, it was all flowing into the ocean via the storm drain outlets at Pico and Will Rodgers State Beach.

Palm Springs and areas to the east of Los Angeles were hit especially hard. Mt. San Jacinto, which towers over the Coachella Valley to the west at nearly 11,000 feet, had clocked 10.17 inches of rain by Sunday evening. Of course, much of that rain ran off the mountain, putting portions of Cathedral City underwater. Multiple roads in the area were washed out and Palm Springs 911 phone service went down, due in part to the flood of calls.

Water also rolled toward Palm Springs from the north, as a flash flood hit the Whitewater wash that runs beneath the 10 Freeway. That freeway was closed this morning a Bob Hope Drive due to major flooding.

Upper Mission Creek above Banning saw more than 10 inches of rain, prompting evacuation orders for Oak Glen and other areas near Yucaipa below the El Dorado Fire burn scar.

Nearby, in Forest Falls, a flash flood sent boulders running downslope and across a roadway.

Aa announced lat eSunday, all Los Angeles Unified School District campuses will be closed Monday. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said he understands the decision may anger some parents or others, but he said the district cannot responsibly plan to open campuses Monday when damage from the storm could occur overnight, without any chance for buildings to be properly inspected before students and staff start arriving.

The storm known as Hilary resulted in the first tropical storm warning ever issued for Southern California. Before Sunday, a tropical storm had not made landfall in California since 1939.

Hilary weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm off the coast of Baja California early Sunday.

Los Angeles County officials said all county parks, buildings and facilities would be closed Sunday and Monday, including, but not limited to:
   — Picnic shelters;
   — Playgrounds;
   — Multi-use trails;
   — Restrooms;
   — Botanical gardens and arboretums;
   — Lakes and swim beaches;
   — Pools and aquatic centers
   — Natural areas and nature centers
   — Performance venues.

Many entertainment venues were closed across the Southland on Sunday, including Magic Mountain and Knott’s Berry Farm. Disneyland closed early on Sunday.

Adding to the mix, a strong earthquake centered in Ventura County shook most of Southern California on Sunday.

The magnitude-5.1 temblor struck at 2:41 p.m., about 4 miles southeast of Ojai, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was quickly followed by a series of aftershocks, the largest of them measuring a magnitude of 3.6.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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