Tropical Storm Franklin makes landfall with major flood threats to Dominican Republic and Haiti

Tropical Storm Franklin brings torrential rain to Dominican Republic and Haiti on Wednesday

Crews work to clear mud and debris from California roads after Storm Hilary

Tropical Storm Franklin was moving inland from the southern coast of the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, bringing torrential rains to the country and neighboring Haiti.

Tropical Storm Harold, which had formed only hours before Franklin, was downgraded to a depression after making landfall in south Texas on Tuesday. The system has since crossed into northern Mexico where it was threatening the region with heavy rains.

The cyclones, which scientists say are being supercharged by the impacts of the climate crisis, are part of a record-breaking pattern unfolding in the Atlantic.

Aside from Harold and Franklin, two other systems formed in the Atlantic - Emily and Gert - in 39 hours, making it the fastest time on record for four named Atlantic storm formations, according to Philip Klotzbach, a Colorado State University Meteorologist.

This weekend, Tropical Storm Hilary wreaked havoc across Mexico, California and Nevada. Hilary, which caused one death in Mexico, was the first tropical storm to hit California in almost a century and deluged cities including Los Angeles and San Diego, leading to widespread flooding and mudslides.

Key points

• Storm Hilary brings a year’s worth of rain to Death Valley
• Storm Hilary to batter Oregon and Idaho after flooding California
• Texas braces for flooding as Tropical Storm Harold barrels towards state
• Rescuers drive bulldozer through mud to reach senior citizens stuck in California care home

[22 August 2023 07:34 · Stuti Mishra]

Tropical Storm Hilary’s path brings much-needed rain over deadly Washington wildfires

From the collision of deadly, climate-driven disasters in the United States emerged a small sliver of good fortune on Monday, writes Louise Boyle.

Tropical Story Hillary, which has deluged Mexico, California and Nevada, is now bringing much-needed rain over the wildfires raging in Washington state as the system moves north.

[22 August 2023 08:04 · Louise Boyle]

Watch: Mudflow rushes down hillside as Tropical Storm Hilary makes landfall in California

[22 August 2023 08:30 · Stuti Mishra]

How a mix of natural and human-caused caused factors cooked up Tropical Storm Hilary's soggy mess

A natural El Nino, human-caused climate crisis, a stubborn heat dome over the nation’s midsection and other factors cooked up Tropical Storm Hilary’s record-breaking slosh into California and Nevada, scientists figure.

[22 August 2023 09:00 · Holly Patrick]

Tropical Storm Hilary crumbles road in California as heavy rain hits state

Part of a road in Santa Clarita, California, collapsed into storm water after Tropical Storm Hilary made landfall in the state on Sunday, 20 August.

Santa Clarita City officials posted footage on Twitter/X showing part of the concrete crumbling as water gushes.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for Santa Clarita, Los Angeles, and Glendale until at least 3am on Monday.

Residents were urged to move to higher ground immediately and to avoid walking or driving through floodwaters.

[22 August 2023 09:30 · Stuti Mishra]

Lightning dances across San Diego sky as Tropical Storm Hilary approaches

Footage posted to social media shows rapid lightning strikes hitting as Tropical Storm Hilary approaches California.

The clip posted to Twitter/X shows the sky lighting up in the early hours of 19 August as a thunderstorm hit San Diego.

Southern California faced its its first tropical storm in 84 years, with the threat of flooding, blackouts, high winds and tornadoes.

Millions of Americans were under flood and high-wind warnings as the storm moved north, unleashing heavy rains from the California-Mexico border to Las Vegas and beyond.

[22 August 2023 10:00 · Holly Patrick]

Tropical Storm Hilary moves into Southern California on satellite footage

Satellite footage shows the moment Tropical Storm Hilary moved into the southwest of the United States on Sunday, 20 August.

The storm was previously classed as a Category 4 hurricane but weakened as it hit Mexico.

“Life-threatening” floods have hammered California after Hilary - the first tropical storm to hit the state since 1997 - made its way up the West Coast.

Officials have warned Los Angeles and San Diego to shelter away from the flooding in a tropical storm warning.

[22 August 2023 10:30 · Stuti Mishra]

Dramatic video shows storm Hilary flooding Los Angeles Dodgers baseball stadium

Aerial footage over Los Angeles has revealed the devastation wrought by Hurricane Hilary – the first tropical storm to strike Los Angeles since 1939.

Footage taken from a helicopter flying over the city shows the stadium for the LA Dodgers baseball team surrounded by water while the field inside is seemingly still spared from the floodwaters.

The footage was posted by the account dodgeraerial on Instagram and subsequently shared on other platforms.

[22 August 2023 11:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

Hilary has already dropped more than half an average year’s worth of rain

The first tropical storm to hit southern California in 84 years, Hilary has already dropped more than half an average year’s worth of rain on some areas, including the desert resort of Palm Springs, which had seen nearly 7.6 centimetres of rain by Sunday evening.

Forecasters warned of dangerous flash floods across Los Angeles and Ventura Counties and fire officials rescued 13 people from knee-deep water in a homeless encampment along the rising San Diego River. Meanwhile, rain and debris washed out some roadways and people left their cars stranded in standing water.

Crews pumped floodwaters out of the emergency room at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage.

The Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest school system, said all campuses would be closed on Monday, as did districts across the region, while the Palm Springs Police Department said in a statement on Sunday that 911 lines were down and that in the event of an emergency to text 911 or reach out to the nearest police or fire station.

Tropical Storm Hilary is projected to weaken as it continues moving northward over California and into Nevada, but Richard Pasch, a hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center, said “very heavy” rain and strong winds are still likely.

[22 August 2023 11:30 · Stuti Mishra]

More than dozen people rescued from San Diego riverbed as Hilary brings flooding to California

As many as 14 people have been rescued from a riverbed in San Diego in southern California as storm Hilary brought massive flooding to the area.

The rescue took place on Sunday night in the area near the Morena Boulevard Bridge in Mission Valley, according to NBC 7.

Firefighters and lifeguards responded to a call reporting that about 20 people were stuck in the river, San Diego Fire-Rescue said.

[22 August 2023 12:00 · AP]

‘Thank God my family is OK'

Tropical Storm Hilary drenched Southern California from the coast to the desert resort city of Palm Springs and inland mountains, forcing rescuers to pull several people from swollen rivers.

By early Monday, remnants of the storm that first brought soaking rains to Mexico’s arid Baja California peninsula and the border city of Tijuana, threatened Nevada and as far north as Oregon and Idaho with flooding.

Southern Californians were battling flooded roads, mudslides and downed trees.

“Thank God my family is OK,” Maura Taura said after a three-story-tall tree crashed down on her daughter’s two cars but missed the family’s house in the Sun Valley area of Los Angeles.