Tropical Storm Hilary dumped over half of a year’s worth of rain on Palm Springs in just hours — a stunning record-breaker that reportedly cut off the city’s emergency services.
According to CBS news, Hilary was the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, with a drenching 3.18 inches of rain by Sunday evening.
The National Weather Service reported the previous record for Palm Springs was 2.03 inches of rain — on Aug. 1, 1930.
The drenching along a stretch of the I-10 freeway near Palm Springs was so intense it forced the shutdown of traffic due to pooling water.
California officials declared a local state of emergency due to “unprecedented rainfall and flooding of local roadways and at least one swift-water rescue.”
And Palm Springs officials continued to urge residents to stay home and to “avoid driving during these dangerous conditions.”
Dozens of cars were trapped in floodwaters across the city and in surrounding communities, according to ABC7.
“There’s no way in or out of Palm Springs and that’s the case for the majority of the Coachella Valley. We’re all stuck. Our major freeway, I-10, is also closed in both directions. This is a very extreme situation at the moment,” Palm Springs Mayor Grace Garner warned Monday, the Independent reported.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday reported that the state endured “the most significant rainfall over a 60-minute period of any time in the history of Palm Springs.”
“That’s how quickly this system is moving. Take nothing for granted,” he warned at a briefing in Los Angeles, the Independent reported.
The City of Palm Springs itself put out a warning on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying 911 lines were down across the city, and urged phone calls for any police or fire-related matter. It also advised residents to text 911.
Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center in Miami downgraded Hilary to a post-tropical storm Monday morning, yet advised “continued life-threatening and locally catastrophic flooding” was expected over portions of the southwestern U.S., along with “record breaking” rainfall and potential flooding in states as far north as Oregon and Idaho.
Remnants of the storm that first brought soaking rains to Mexico’s arid Baja California Peninsula and the border city of Tijuana were expected to linger at least through Tuesday morning.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.