San Diego markets itself as the land of endless warmth and sunshine. That seems like a goof as 2023 comes to an end. The city received only two hours of sunshine in the entire month of May. The temperature was below average for 11 straight months.
Clouds of thick white dust billowed through Death Valley National Park this week as crews maneuvered bulldozers and Big Cats to clear the remnants of a rare and record-breaking tropical storm.
On Aug. 20, Tropical Storm Hilary tore through the park near the border of Nevada, dropping more than a year’s worth of rain — 2.2 inches — in one day, forever transforming one of the hottest and driest places on Earth.
Last week, a massive marine heat wave sitting roughly 60 miles off California’s coast oozed eastward, providing warm water fuel for Hurricane Hilary and its historic trek north. It was a worrisome development for researchers who have monitored this warm mass for nearly a decade — and who are watching a developing El Niño in the equatorial Pacific.
You can understand our optimism. It hadn’t rained in Phoenix for four months. Other parts of the West were hot and dry. Then came the big one: Hurricane Hilary. While rainfall totals were disappointing in Phoenix, the storm did dump quite a few inches on California and Nevada. Areas near Lake Mead got pelted, leading a bunch of folks to presume that the nation’s largest water reservoir would get a decent boost from the rainfall. But that’s not how it works.
An endangered toad in San Diego’s East County is having a bit of a resurgence thanks to a couple of storms like Hilary and a large hole in the bottom of a dam.
“This is perfect habitat for the arroyo toad,” said Sweetwater Authority Biologist Pete Famolaro while standing in a Sweetwater River watershed near the Loveland Reservoir.
The arrival of Tropical Storm Hilary in the region on Sunday was an ordeal or a huge inconvenience for many people — especially those who struggled with flooding in Tijuana, air travelers dealing with flight cancellations and delays, and drivers using Interstate 8 who only learned the freeway was closed in the Ocotillo area when they came upon massive lines of cars and 18-wheelers.
Tropical Storm Hilary drenched Southern California from the coast to the desert resort city of Palm Springs and inland mountains, forcing rescuers to pull several people from swollen rivers.
By early Monday, remnants of the storm that first brought soaking rains to Mexico’s arid Baja California peninsula and the border city of Tijuana, threatened Nevada and as far north as Oregon and Idaho with flooding.
Southern Californians were battling flooded roads, mudslides and downed trees.
A diminished Tropical Storm Hilary moved out of the San Diego Sunday night as gusty winds and bands of heavy rain continued to drench the region. “Tropical Storm Hilary will continue to move north across Southern California tonight. Strong and gusty winds will continue mainly across the mountains and foothills. Widespread moderate to heavy rainfall will continue through much of tonight,” the San Diego office of the National Weather Service said in its 9:30 p.m. forecast update.
The City of San Diego has announced that today it has begun releasing water from El Capitan Reservoir in Lakeside, in anticipation of a potential spill due to Tropical Storm Hilary. Flowing water will be visible downstream from the dam in El Monte Valley and beyond. The notice is posted on the city’s webpage for El Capitan Reservoir.
Parts of Southern California and the U.S. Southwest on Monday faced the threat of flash flooding along with landslides and mudslides after storm Hilary unleashed record-breaking downpours overnight. Some 17 million Americans were under flood and high-wind advisories, watches and warnings as remnants of the storm moved north, dumping heavy rains from the California-Mexico border up through Las Vegas and into parts of the Northwest, the National Weather Service said.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
