It’s hurricane season and that means we’re watching Florida closely for weather that could impact your upcoming vacation. So far the Atlantic hurricane season has been relatively calm. It’s not just Florida that’s a risk during hurricane season though. It’s also hurricane season in the Pacific. The national hurricane center is currently tracking a storm en route to California.
Hurricane Hilary is on a crash course for Los Angeles. The storm, which upgraded from a tropical storm to a hurrica
ne earlier today, is expected to continue to gain strength over the next 24-48 hours. Hurricane Hilary peak Sunday and likely make landfall on Monday.
When the storm makes landfall, it will be the first named storm to do so this hurricane season. There have been several near misses in Florida. Tropical Storm Bret seemed like it was going to impact Central Florida but veered south before reaching the shores.
Hilary was upgraded to a category three making it a major hurricane. This means the storm is bringing sustained wind speeds between 111-129 miles per hour. According to the Saffir-Simpson a category three hurricane will cause “Devastating damage. Well-built framed homes may incur major damage or removal of roof decking and gable ends. Many trees will be snapped or uprooted, blocking numerous roads. Electricity and water will be unavailable for several days to weeks after the storm passes.”
The storm will most certainly make landfall according to experts but is expected to weaken when it does. That doesn’t mean Southern California is safe, though. Weather Channel storm specialist Greg Postel reports that the storm will bring dangerous winds and heavy rains which are likely to produce flooding in parts of Southern California, including Anaheim and the Disneyland Resort.
A hurricane in California is extremely rare. If Hilary doesn’t weaken before making landfall, the storm will join a very short list. There have only been three tropical storms/hurricanes to make landfall in the state since 1900. An unnamed tropical storm in 1939 caused massive devastation to an unprepared Long Beach California. In 1997 Hurricane Nora caused massive flooding in San Diego. Just last year, Hurricane Kay aided firefighters battling wildfires in Southern California.
As always, these storms are extremely unpredictable. Current forecasts can change at a moment’s notice. The storm could continue to strengthen and make landfall as a hurricane, it could weaken, or it could turn and head out to sea, though experts think that is unlikely. Stay tuned as we monitor this storm and its potential impact on Disneyland carefully.
