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As predicted, Tropical Storm Hilary brought heavy rains to Southern California, particularly in the mountain and desert areas, which saw quite a bit of flooding and debris flows.
The forecast: Intermittent rain and thunderstorms are expected through Monday, but things should clear up my Tuesday.
Heaviest rainfall: Lewis Ranch in Los Angeles County saw 7.04 inches.
The storm formerly known as Hurricane Hilary has broken down and moved on to Nevada, leaving behind flooded roads, downed trees, stranded cars and soaked residents.
As predicted, Southern California's first tropical storm to make landfall in 84 years hit the mountains, foothills and deserts the hardest.
ATTN Drivers, please stay off the roads, if able. This video was taken by our #Caltrans8 Cajon Crew team wearing a head camera of SR-2 and Sheep Creek. Flash floods, high winds and the rain are making it a big challenge for all. Please be patient while we work. pic.twitter.com/BFga3z6JMG
— Caltrans District 8 (@Caltrans8) August 21, 2023
"It was uncharted territory as much for us forecasters as it was the public who found what we were saying pretty hard to believe," said Miguel Miller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. "We found it hard to believe ourselves, but we couldn't discount it. Couldn't deny it."
The center of Hilary passed over Los Angeles around 8 p.m. Sunday, though the heaviest rain fell between 2 and 6 p.m., dropping more than 1 inch per hour in some spots.
There have been no reports of any significant injuries or damage as of 8 a.m. Monday, though assessments are ongoing.
"We urge you to please be cautious of hazardous road conditions," L.A. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said at a Monday morning news conference.
Still, the storm was felt across the region:
Across L.A. County, it was the San Gabriel mountains and the Antelope Valley that saw some of the heaviest bands of precipitation.
💧TRAVEL ADVISORY💧@CaltransDist7 strongly advises motorists to postpone travel during #Hillary storm. EB Route 118 near #Llano CLOSED at Route 18 due to flooding. Traffic diverted to SR-18. Check https://t.co/cxZ0jW7S5n for updates. #AntelopeValley #Lancaster pic.twitter.com/T9pW0Dkx59
— Caltrans District 7 (@CaltransDist7) August 21, 2023
Rainfall totals as of early Monday:
Given how unusual it is for our region to see rain during this time of year, it's unsurprising that many daily rainfall records fell.
Flood watches are still in effect for Los Angeles and surrounding counties as the storm wraps up. They'll likely be lifted by Tuesday.
“We’ve made it this far. Let’s make it to the final home stretch here,” said Ariel Cohen, meteorologist in charge with the National Weather Service.
Screenshots from PSPD drone footage of the flooding and storm damage on Indian Canyon. pic.twitter.com/jFPuLAZ4o4
— City of Palm Springs (@CityofPS) August 21, 2023
Palm Springs received a record setting 3.18 inches of rain, their largest amount in 93 years. Roads were washed out and streets flooded.
Homes in nearby Cathedral City were inundated with mud and water.
Aerials show the aftermath of Tropical Storm Hilary in Cathedral City. This is off Date Palm Dr, you can see multiple vehicles stuck in mud
— KESQ News Channel 3 (@KESQ) August 21, 2023
STORM UPDATES: https://t.co/EVe9VxxaL5 pic.twitter.com/JSr5gvxKK3
The 911 system across the Coachella Valley went down overnight, and as of 7 a.m., there was no estimated time for restoration.
Riverside County provided the following alternative numbers for residents to call if help is needed:
Mias Canyon Bridge completely washed out in Banning with the San Gorgonio River still gushing. #Hilary #CAwx pic.twitter.com/IolFdgQggt
— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) August 21, 2023
Oak Glen and Forest Falls in San Bernardino County also experienced significant debris flows.
Morning light revealing the scale of several mud slides in the San Bernardino mountain ranges including the one I documented in Forest Falls and a major slide that destroyed several cabs in Seven Oaks. Full video below #CAwx #Hilary https://t.co/oEMR448S6c pic.twitter.com/1zre7HxsSr
— Aaron Rigsby (@AaronRigsbyOSC) August 21, 2023
The city of L.A. is providing shelters to unhoused people at the following locations:
If you need to report a flooded road or a downed tree, you can call the following non-emergency numbers:
If you're in L.A. County and need sand bags, you can find them at local fire houses.
Dial 911 if it's an emergency.
As Hurricane Hilary approaches, it's important to have a safety plan in place. Advice from L.A. County Fire Department Chief Anthony Marrone:
A detailed list of emergency kit items can be found at ready.la county.gov; there will be real-time emergency updates on the county’s emergency website, found on the county’s landing page: LA county.gov/emergency.
The last time we were directly hit by a tropical storm was in 1939, when one made landfall in Long Beach, according to the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
While the track of this storm was unusual, the hurricane itself was not.
“So far this season has played out as expected,” said Jamie Rhome, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center.
Tropical cyclones regularly form off the coast of Southwest Mexico between May and November. While they usually track west out into the Pacific, they can head north toward Baja.
Sometimes they do indirectly affect Southern California. In September 2022, Hurricane Kay dropped more than 5 inches of rain on the area, causing flooding and damaging homes.
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A federal judge has dismissed criminal charges against Carlitos Ricardo Parias, known as Richard LA on TikTok, where he posts content on local breaking news. Judge Fernando M. Olguin ruled on Saturday that the government violated Parias’ constitutional rights by not allowing him to speak to his lawyers before trial.
The backstory: Parias was arrested on Oct. 21 and charged with assaulting a federal officer and damaging government property. Federal immigration agents alleged in court documents filed the day of his arrest that Parias accelerated his car aggressively after agents had boxed him in. One of the agents then shot Parias in the arm, also hitting a deputy U.S. Marshal in the hand with a ricochet bullet.
Why the case was dismissed: Olguin explained his ruling in an order to dismiss the case, saying Parias was prevented from speaking to his lawyers while detained at the Adelanto immigration detention facility “for nearly the entire month preceding trial.” Olguin criticized both Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for not ensuring Parias could speak with his lawyers and have a fair trial.
What the government says: ICE did not answer LAist’s questions about whether Parias or others have been prevented from speaking with their attorneys while detained. The agency provided a statement from Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, who said “Parias has a history of driving without a license, failing to prove financial responsibility, vehicle code violations, and resisting arrest. He entered the country illegally at an unknown date and location.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles also told LAist in a statement that the prosecutors “strongly disagree with the court’s version of the facts” and may appeal Olguin’s decision. Meanwhile, Parias remains in immigration custody.
From Parias’ lawyers: Federal public defenders Cuauhtemoc Ortega and Gabriela Rivera told LAist in a statement they're confident a jury would acquit Parias and “are grateful that Mr. Parias’ constitutional rights were vindicated.”
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President Donald Trump focused on California first as his administration rolled out its crackdown on unauthorized immigration, sending the National Guard to Los Angeles and carrying out high profile raids throughout the state.
Why it matters: Raids on California streets and lawsuits that followed helped rewrite the ground rules for how agents can operate. What began as before-dawn operations in Golden State farm towns quickly expanded into a broader nationwide strategy: surprise workplace and neighborhood sweeps and roving patrols miles from the border.
What's next: California expects further interior enforcement, additional legal battles over sanctuary laws, funding, and renewed attempts to expand detention capacity.
Read on... for more on what happened in 2025 and what to expect in the coming year.
In 2025, California became the frontline of a federal playbook for more militarized immigration enforcement.
Raids on California streets and lawsuits that followed helped rewrite the ground rules for how agents can operate. What began as before-dawn operations in Golden State farm towns quickly expanded into a broader nationwide strategy: surprise workplace and neighborhood sweeps and roving patrols miles from the border.
CalMatters reporters across California documented how tactics first seen in Kern County, such as warrantless traffic stops and a heavy reliance on appearance-based profiling, spread statewide and then across the country. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld these methods.
Early in the second Trump administration, the federal government sent Marines to the border, citing a crisis. Those troops have since quietly gone home.
Hundreds of National Guard troops were deployed to Los Angeles following civil unrest about immigration arrests. President Donald Trump threatened to send forces to the Bay Area, then backed off. State officials objected, while federal leaders characterized the moves as necessary. The standoff deepened long-running tensions between California and the White House over the state’s sanctuary policy and federal authority.
All this fell most heavily on families with deep roots in California. CalMatters found deportations increasingly reached people who have decades-long residence, U.S.-citizen children, stable employment, and even those following legal pathways. ICE detained people at green-card interviews and routine check-ins. The changes destabilized school systems, the agricultural economy, and health care.
A federal lawsuit over a deaf asylum seeker’s prolonged detention exposed gaps in medical care and disability accommodations in immigration facilities. Under Trump, asylum seekers with pending claims lost protection from arrest. A new system is emerging where people trying to follow the rules are easier targets than those evading them. Detention centers drew scrutiny as local authorities shied away from conducting health and safety inspections, while advocates reported worsening conditions inside.
A quieter but equally consequential trend has emerged: The immigrant population shrank. Love them or hate them, Trump’s immigration policies were achieving the administration’s goals. Pew Research found the national immigration population shrank by about 1.4 million people in the first half of 2025, the first decline in half a century. Economists warned about slower growth. State leaders weighed long-term impacts on the workforce, schools, and social service systems.
Enforcement grew more data-driven. Drone surveillance expanded in urban areas, and advocates warned about new uses of artificial intelligence to identify deportation targets and analyze asylum and visa applicants’ digital histories.
California expects further interior enforcement, additional legal battles over sanctuary laws, funding, and renewed attempts to expand detention capacity. School districts and employers are preparing for more mass removals, while lawmakers are considering new privacy protections.
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
Topline:
The Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires renewed attention to issues such as utility oversight, insurance coverage, and the broader challenges of wildfire planning in a changing climate. But California found pushing its climate agenda forward to be an uphill battle this year: ambitious climate goals faced a hostile federal government economic pressures.
Agenda setbacks: Anticipating opposition from President Donald Trump, state leaders chose to abandon important clean-air rules before he even took office, including plans to phase out diesel trucks and transition to cleaner trains. Nearing mid-year, Trump and his allies in Congress blocked the state’s clean-car mandate, a blow to emissions reduction plans. By the end of the legislative session, these issues converged, as legislators passed a six-bill deal that included a plan to boost oil drilling, relief for ratepayers who fund wildfire mitigation, and an extension of the now rebranded “cap-and-invest” program.
Read on... for more on what 2025 delivered on the climate front.
Days after 2025 began, two fires scorched through Los Angeles neighborhoods, the most destructive in California’s history. The Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires also renewed attention to issues such as utility oversight, insurance coverage, and the broader challenges of wildfire planning in a changing climate. And their harms rippled outward, leaving thousands of low-income workers and immigrants without jobs.
But California found pushing its climate agenda forward to be an uphill battle this year: Ambitious climate goals faced a hostile federal government economic pressures.
Anticipating opposition from President Donald Trump, state leaders chose to abandon important clean-air rules before he even took office, including plans to phase out diesel trucks and transition to cleaner trains. Nearing mid-year, Trump and his allies in Congress blocked the state’s clean-car mandate, a blow to emissions reduction plans.
Nevertheless, as part of budget negotiations, Gov. Gavin Newsom sought to reauthorize California’s landmark cap-and-trade program, launching a debate that would resolve in the final hours of the legislative session.
Blaming climate and environmental regulation, Phillips 66 and Valero followed through on plans to shutter oil refineries, raising concerns about gas prices and the future of the state’s oil industry. In Wilmington, Phillips 66 is now closed. A high-profile explosion at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery nearby underscored persistent safety and environmental risks tied to remaining facilities.
By the end of the legislative session, these issues converged, as legislators passed a six-bill deal that included a plan to boost oil drilling, relief for ratepayers who fund wildfire mitigation, and an extension of the now rebranded “cap-and-invest” program.
As lawmakers passed sweeping reforms to California’s landmark environmental review law, critics warned exemptions may make it easier for potentially high-polluting advanced manufacturing facilities to take root in already vulnerable areas.
Longstanding conflicts over water continued to simmer this year. The governor continued pressing to fast-track a $20 billion tunnel around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to send more water south — to the outrage of Delta lawmakers. And dry conditions led to dire projections for the Colorado River, a vital water supply for Southern California. They ramped up the tensions — and the urgency — as negotiators from states that rely on the river tried, and failed, to reach a deal portioning out water supplies.
Affordability, the cost of climate adaptation, and pollution harms, in the skies and in the waste stream, continue to be key issues for California. As Gov. Gavin Newsom’s balancing act continues, the state will navigate tensions with environmental justice advocates unhappy with compromises. Emerging risks include the cost – in energy and water – of data centers, and the environmental consequences of the battery economy.
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
Topline:
For more than a century, the Rose Parade has delighted audiences across Southern California with its colorful, elaborate floats and fanfare.
What you should know: The parade will celebrate its 137th year when floats begin traveling through Pasadena at 8 a.m. Jan. 1, 2026. This year's theme is "Magic in Teamwork," and Magic Johnson is the Grand Marshal.
Keep reading... for details about key participants — from movie and music stars to sports legends to real-life heroes, and a even a couple of fictional characters, and some vintage photos.
For more than a century, the Rose Parade has delighted audiences across Southern California with its colorful, elaborate floats and fanfare.
The parade will celebrate its 137th year when floats begin traveling through Pasadena at 8 a.m. Jan. 1, 2026. This year's theme is "Magic in Teamwork," and Magic Johnson is the Grand Marshal.
This year, for the first time in two decades, rain appears to be highly likely on parade day. Rain conditions are rare for the legendary parade.
Showing off SoCal weather, in fact, was one of the main drivers of the parade's creation.
As the Pasadena Tournament of Roses website recounts, Charles F. Holder led Valley Hunt Club members in creating the parade in 1890, saying: “In New York, people are buried in snow. Here our flowers are blooming and our oranges are about to bear. Let’s hold a festival to tell the world about our paradise.”
Here are photos from some of the Rose Parades past, with details about key participants — from movie and music stars to sports legends to real-life heroes, and a even a couple of fictional characters:
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A version of this story initially ran in 2019. It has been updated with additional parade details.
