By Maureen Chowdhury, Aditi Sangal, Mary Gilbert, Eric Zerkel, Steve Almasy, Matt Meyer and Helen Regan, CNN
From CNN's AnneClaire Stapleton
At least one person has died as Hilary pummels the peninsula of Baja California in Mexico, officials said.
The victim's vehicle was swept away near the city of Santa Rosalía, according to a statement from the Mexican government.
Hilary first began impacting Mexico as a hurricane Sunday morning, and has since been downgraded to a tropical storm as it continues on its path toward California.
From CNN Meteorologist Mary Gilbert
Tropical Storm Hilary is moving faster as it nears landfall along Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. Hilary was moving at a brisk 25 mph to the north-northwest on Sunday morning, according to data from the National Hurricane Center.
That is up considerably from Hilary’s pace on Saturday morning of 16 mph. Hilary will continue to accelerate and race north-northwestward Sunday into Monday.
Why speed matters for the US:
From CNN’s Chris Boyette
The biggest concern ahead of Hilary's arrival in Los Angeles is tremendous rainfall in a very short period of time, Mayor Karen Bass told CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday.
We are prepared. We are ready,” Bass said.
The mayor says authorities are asking Angelenos to stay home. If they are outside for any reason, and they happen to see fallen trees or power lines, they should stay far away and call the city, she added.
“We are all-hands-on-deck here at the city's emergency operation center,” Bass said.
“This is an unprecedented weather event, but Los Angeles has deep experience responding to crisis, whether it be wildfire or earthquakes, the city is prepared," Bass said during a Saturday news conference.
“It is critical that Angelenos stay safe and stay home unless otherwise directed by safety officials. Avoid unnecessary travel. If you do not need to be on the road, please don't get in your car. Make sure your emergency kit and essential devices are on hand. And ensure that all of your devices are charged in the event of life-threatening emergency,” the mayor said.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Hilary has sustained wind speeds of 70 mph and has been downgraded to a tropical storm. The worst of its effects in the US are expected Sunday evening, especially in and east of Southern California’s mountain ranges, and in southern Nevada.
From CNN’s Josh Campbell
Southern California utility workers who spent the summer battling the effects of extreme heat across the region are now bracing to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Hilary, according to officials at Southern California Edison (SCE).
Workers are preparing for potential flooding and infrastructure damage from high winds. “There’s likely to be power outages across parts of our territory,” said the electrical utility’s CEO Steve Powell on Saturday.
SCE said its line workers and emergency management teams were preparing to respond to wind, widespread rain and thunderstorms.
Utility crews have faced adverse conditions throughout summer 2023, SCE said, including infrastructure impacted by days with temperatures in excess of 100 degrees.
“Not everyone can do this work,” said SCE field supervisor Justin Surprenant. “It’s a strenuous task. These guys are all athletes to me; they keep pushing through day and night, nonstop.”
From CNN’s Chris Boyette
Officials in Palm Springs, California, are asking residents to stay indoors ahead of Hilary, which weakened to a tropical storm Sunday.
The storm is still expected to cause heavy rainfall in Southern California.
“We don't have any reason to evacuate at this time,” Palm Springs Mayor Grace Garner told CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday. “We have closed down preemptively three of our roads that are regularly flooded. That's our three main arteries into our city.”
The roads into the Coachella Valley city were closed at midnight, a Palm Springs police officer told CNN Sunday morning. At least one of the roads recently closed is also prone to car accidents — even when it’s not raining, the officer added.
Palm Springs is a little less than a two-hour drive from Los Angeles, often called a “desert paradise.”
“It's drizzling outside, and if it stays just this very light drizzle, we’ll definitely be okay. But we do know that there's going to be flooding, because, like I said, even an inch or two of rain in the desert can cause damage," Garner said.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Hilary has sustained wind speeds of 70 mph. The worst of the storm is expected Sunday evening, especially in Southern California’s mountain ranges and deserts, like Palm Springs. Rain is also expected to be particularly heavy in southern Nevada on Sunday.
CNN’s Stephanie Elam and Sarah Moon contributed reporting from Palm Springs.
From CNN Meteorologist Mary Gilbert
Hilary is now a tropical storm with sustained wind speeds of 70 mph and higher gusts, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm is tracking just off the western coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and moving at an increased speed of 25 mph. Torrential rainfall and damaging winds are hitting parts of the peninsula and northwestern Mexico.
"The center of Hilary will move near or over the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula during the next few hours, and then move across southern California this afternoon," the hurricane center says.
Heavy rainfall from the storm is already falling on portions of California, Nevada and Arizona and is only expected to get more intense as Sunday progresses. The worst is expected Sunday evening in Southern California, especially in and east of the area’s mountain ranges, and southern Nevada.
Some context: Forecasters expected Hilary to weaken before it reached California, but that doesn't mean officials aren't concerned about impacts there.
Flooding rainfall, rather than wind speed, has been the primary concern, as Hilary is expected to maintain its tropical storm status and dump rain on areas that typically receive very little.
That could lead to flooding, mudslides and debris flows — regardless of Hilary's diminished strength.
CNN's Caitlin Kaiser contributed to this report.
From CNN’s Stephanie Elam
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) says its reservoirs have “sufficient capacity” to handle increased runoff of floodwaters from Hilary.
On Saturday, state officials said they are ready to release water from dams across Southern California this weekend if needed. "People may see spillway gates open and the release of floodwaters," said Karla Nemeth, the director of the California Department of Water Resources. "That is a normal flood operations procedure."
LADWP has also fully staffed its power restoration crews and field crews to address any power outages as a result of the storm’s winds, rain, thunderstorms and flooding, according to a statement.
Other crews will be clearing downed trees as the department says flying debris is usually the culprit for service interruptions.
The other concern is rainwater seeping into underground electrical vaults, LADWP says.
From CNN's Eric Zerkel
Hurricane Hilary's intense rain could set new records for rainfall from a tropical system in Nevada, Idaho and Oregon, the Weather Prediction Center said.
More than 7 inches of rain were forecast for parts of Nevada from the storm. Nevada's current rainfall record from a tropical system is 4.36 inches, set in 1906.
Oregon's record is 1.35 inches, set by Kathleen in 1976. Idaho's record is 2.2 inches, set by Olivia in 1982.
Las Vegas and Bishop, California, already broke daily rainfall records on Saturday, well ahead of the storm.
From CNN's Priscilla Alvarez
Officials are closely monitoring Hurricane Hilary, which is barreling toward Southern California, and mobilizing federal resources and personnel to assist, Deanne Criswell, the Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator, said Sunday.
Residents should take the storm seriously, she said on CNN’s State of the Union.
Asked about FEMA funds running dry amid a series of extreme weather-related disasters, Criswell said the agency anticipates a shortage of funding, but maintained that they will take measures to ensure funds are available to support immediate responses.
“We do still anticipate that we will have a shortage of funding at our current spending levels by mid-September,” she said. “We will push projects, recovery projects into the next fiscal year, so we always have enough money to support any of the immediate life-saving needs," Criswell added.
