Hurricane Hilary: What can the Sacramento area expect from the storm?
All eyes are on Hurricane Hilary and its possible impacts on Southern California this weekend.
The storm has become a major hurricane in the eastern Pacific Ocean, with max winds reaching 120 mph as of Thursday.
The storm is currently a Category 4 hurricane. It will lose steam as it approaches cooler water, though.
Later Saturday and Sunday, the storm could still be a Category 2 hurricane south of San Diego. It will quickly lose its tropical characteristics as it moves north.
This will expand the wind field – making it more of a rain event than a wind event.
Watches and warnings are already in place across parts of Baja California. Heading into Friday, expect those watches to extend all the way up the coastline.
Come Sunday and Monday, Flood Watches will be in place for most of Southern California and even up past Las Vegas and all the way east near Phoenix.
There hasn't been a landfalling tropical system to hit Southern California since 1939. It is extremely rare for California to be hit with tropical storms or hurricanes - but it has happened before. The 1939 storm, called El Cordonazo, became the first and only tropical storm to make landfall in the state in the 20th century, according to the National Weather Service. NWS says the storm, which was at one point a hurricane, originated off the southern coast of Central America before moving north and eventually coming ashore at San Pedro, California.
Other powerful storms have hit Southern California, including a hurricane in 1858 that hit San Diego with 75 mph winds — what would now be considered a Category 1. The hurricane, which caused extensive wind damage, is considered the only actual hurricane to hit the West Coast, according to National Weather Service.
By Monday, the rain is expected to track to the north a little more.
For now, the rain band looks like it will mostly miss the Sacramento Valley, bringing .25" of rain to the valley and 1"-2" of rain in the foothills.
Still, down south, rain totals are expected to be significant – with 2-4" expected in the Los Angeles area and 4-8" more inland of San Diego.