Will Hurricane Hilary hit Bay Area? Here's what meteorologists forecast for NorCal region.
As Hurricane Hilary takes a path toward California, forecasters are looking closely at the expected effects in the Bay Area from what would be another rare weather event, a tropical storm that would bring heavy rain and flooding to the state.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said a tropical storm watch has been issued for Southern California, the first time it has ever done that.
Forecasters said the storm is expected to produce 3 to 6 inches of rainfall, with maximum amounts of 10 inches, across portions of Baja California through Sunday night, with the possibility of flash flooding. The same rain totals are forecast for parts of Southern California and Southern Nevada, according to the National Hurricane Center.
However, in the Bay Area, it appears the region will escape most of the heavy rain from the tropical storm. As of Friday morning, the weather service indicated only a marginal chance of flash flooding in parts of the Bay Area, 5% or less.
KPIX Weather Center: Current conditions, alerts, maps for your area
"We see a chance of showers here locally in the Bay Area," said KPIX meteorologist Jessica Burch. "It looks like we're really just getting the remnants of it because that storm is tracking more off to the east."
According to the National Weather Service, no tropical storm has made landfall in Southern California since Sept. 25, 1939. The storm was deadly, catching people off-guard as precise storm tracking and satellites were still decades away. Ninety-three people were killed in the storm and 11 inches of rain fell, washing away homes from Huntington Beach to Malibu with winds reaching 65 miles an hour.
Forecasters said in Southern California there will likely be "damaging wind gusts," especially at higher elevations, in the area, and swells along the coast.
Hurricane watches and warnings are in effect for parts of Baja California. Tropical storm watches and warnings are in effect for parts of the peninsula as well in addition to parts of mainland Mexico.
Hilary was expected to move close to the west coast of the Baja California peninsula over the weekend and reach southern California by Sunday night as a tropical storm.
