Tropical Storm Hilary ravaged Southern California on Sunday as flash floods caused mass transportation delays and cancelations for residents across the region.
Over 4,500 flights headed into and out of airports in Palm Springs, San Diego, and Los Angeles have been delayed or canceled due to the storm.
It’s estimated that over 3.81 inches of rain hit Palm Springs, while Downtown Los Angeles was hit with 2.38 inches — the wettest August day in the history of the city.
Burbank, Santa Ana, and Sacramento airports also canceled an estimated 20% of all departing flights, as well as an estimated 300 flight cancelations on routes going in and out of Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Related: Ellen Degeneres, California Residents Document Devastating California Flooding: Watch
Over 30% of flights going in and out of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in Arizona were also delayed or canceled on Sunday.
Oh man my flight got cancelled because of Hurricane Hilary and the customer rep for the airline put me on an estimated 3 hr call. My hotel and car rental ends on Sunday which is the day my flight is cancelled so lowkey panicking
— ?KairuVT? Vstreamer not Vtuber (@VtuberKairu) August 19, 2023
I tried to catch it late flight last night, and it was canceled. Airport was crazy. Ended up driving to Vegas to escape. Everybody is not prepared and it’s going to be a shit show trying to leave Southern California. If you stay there, be prepared to be without power and Internet… pic.twitter.com/cFMUZgzuot
— HAL (@CivitaApe) August 19, 2023
Downtown Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium, and Palm Springs Are Flooded
Hilary was the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in nearly 84 years, bringing mass devastation to areas not well-equipped to deal with its effects.
Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium was inundated with mass floods as videos and images of the baseball field spread quickly around social media.
This view of Dodger Stadium is insane pic.twitter.com/GBJmlEuVcF
— Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) August 21, 2023
Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, a dry, desert area that rarely sees rain at all, began trending internationally on X late Sunday night as witnesses and residents shared footage on social media of cars floating, roads that looked like bodies of water, and debris filling the streets.
Palm Springs and others parts of Southern California faced the threat of flash flooding along with landslides and mudslides today after storm Hilary unleashed record-breaking downpours overnight.
This is a massive debris flow in Palm Springspic.twitter.com/W2SAvzBBXu
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) August 21, 2023
Palm Springs is completely flooded by Hurricane Hillary. pic.twitter.com/puC2lR8b93
— David Wolfe (@DavidWolfe) August 21, 2023
The National Weather Service has warned of “life-threatening and locally catastrophic flooding” across the Southwestern U.S. into Monday evening.
“Post-Tropical Hilary is expected to produce additional rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches, with isolated storm total amounts to 12 inches, across portions of Southern California and Southern Nevada through today,” the NWS said. “Continued flash and urban flooding, locally catastrophic, is expected.”
