AccuWeather.com is wrapping up live coverage on Kay's impact in Mexico and California. Weather conditions will gradually improve across Baja California and Southern California through the weekend. Thank you for staying up to date with the storm on AccuWeather.com. For additional coverage, you can stream AccuWeather NOW anytime on our website. Stay up to date on the latest weather in your area by downloading the AccuWeather mobile app and visiting AccuWeather.com.
An AccuWeather satellite image showing Kay, which made landfall as a hurricane in Mexico and then came within 130 miles of San Diego as a Tropical Storm, as it began moving away from the coastline and continued losing intensity late in the morning, local time, on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022.
New photos have emerged from the destruction caused by Tropical Storm Kay across Southern California, as record rain and flash flooding were unleashed in the area Friday.
AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell snapped shots of Interstate 8 westbound from Ocotillo, California, toward the hub of San Diego, after the interstate was briefly blocked for safety concerns. Among the travel woes were dense fog, rock slides and numerous crashes, including one car that turned over on its side. Another harrowing shot was taken at North Island Naval Air Station, just outside of San Diego, where a lear jet skidded off the runway and crashed during a landing. Local TV station NBC7 reported that the two people aboard the plane were not seriously injured, according to Navy officials, and the cause of the accident is currently under investigation. San Diego received a record amount of precipitation on Friday, with a total of 0.61 of an inch of rainfall that demolished a previous daily record.
While several locations across the Golden State exceeded 4 inches or more of rain since Thursday from Kay, one location recorded 5.60 inches of rainfall. Mt. Laguna, located on the eastern edge of the Cleveland National Forest and situated at about 6,000 feet above sea level, recorded the astonishing feat that is now the largest in the state since Thursday. Other locations recording at least 4 or more inches include: Ranchita, Volcan Mountain and Agua Caliente.
Although many tropical storms have affected the Southwest, few have been officially tracked as close to Southern California as Tropical Storm Kay. The next to last point tracked by the National Hurricane Center on Sept. 10 was 130 miles offshore from San Diego, making it the closest pass to the city from the ocean side since records began in 1949. The runner up was Tropical Storm Hyacinth in 1972, which was a little farther out to sea but slightly farther north.
At least two tropical storms made a closer approach to San Diego over land. An unnamed tropical storm in 1959 came as close as 100 miles southeast of San Diego near Auga Caliente, Mexico. Tropical Storm Kathleen was tracked to near Rancho San Isidro, Mexico, 120 miles southeast of San Diego.
Although many tropical storms have affected the Southwest, few have been officially tracked as close to Southern California as Tropical Storm Kay.
Hyacinth was closer to Los Angeles, though, giving Kay the number two closest pass from the oceanside for that city. Before official records began, a tropical storm made landfall near Long Beach in 1939, and more than 150 years ago a hurricane hit near the town.
Historic rainfall in San Diego from Tropical Storm Kay took its toll on the Southern California hub Friday evening, including an extremely rare occurrence for the local sports team.
Friday’s Major League Baseball game between the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers was put into a rain delay, postponing the regularly scheduled start of the contest. The delay after what a local reporter termed a “brief burst of rain” over downtown San Diego was the eighth such delay in Petco Park history since the park's opening in 2004. In total, San Diego received a record-setting 0.61 of an inch of rain for the date on Friday.After a 45-minute delay, and drizzle that came down for the first three innings of the game, the hometown Padres defeated the rival Dodgers 5-4 in an extra-innings affair. Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth knocked in the winning run with a single in the 10th inning, as the Padres beat the Dodgers for just the fourth time in the squads’ last 23 meetings.
Rain falls as San Diego Padres starting pitcher Mike Clevinger works against a Los Angeles Dodgers batter during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 9, 2022, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Kay has left its mark on Southern California, as well as causing troubles south of the US-Mexico border. On Thursday, torrential downpours from Kay caused flooding in Mulege, Mexico, with video taken in the area showing one house nearly completely submerged in the floodwaters. Other nearby residences were flooded to the upper levels as the storm paralleled Baja California Sur, or the southern part of the peninsula in Mexico. Kay made landfall on Thursday afternoon as a Category 1 hurricane packing 75-mph winds along the west coast of the central Baja California peninsula of Mexico about 70 miles southeast of Punta Eugenia, Mexico, and 420 miles south-southeast of San Diego. Heavy rain persisted across parts of the Baja California peninsula on Friday as the storm’s rain shield also began drenching portions of Southern California.
Flooding in Mulege, Mexico, on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. (Dansv Vela via Storyful)
San Diego picked up an extremely unusual amount of rain on Friday from Tropical Storm Kay — an amount with a near-zero probability of happening on a September day. The Southern California hub received 0.61 of an inch of rain Friday during Kay, shattering a previous daily record of 0.09 of an inch of rain that was set on Sept. 9, 1976. According to the Desert Research Institute’s Western Regional Climate Center, the probability of the city receiving 0.5 of an inch or more of rain in one September day is next to zero, with Kay smashing all normal expectations of the month. The Climate Center has categorized the San Diego rainfall from Kay as “extreme,” as the city typically sees most of its rain in the winter months. The entire month of September typically bring 0.12 of an inch of rain. February is the wettest month on average with 2.02 inches of precipitation typically falling in San Diego as Pacific storms march into the West Coast during the winter month.
As Kay brought extreme weather to Southern California, numerous concerts were canceled or postponed due to the weather. Among the postponed was Alicia Keys’ sold out concert at the San Diego State University Cal Coast Credit Union Amphitheater. Keys wrote on her social media pages, “I’m so bummed to announce that tonight’s show will have to be postponed due to severe weather.” According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Kool & The Gang’s sold-out outdoor show was moved from an outdoor concert venue to an indoor event center. But the weather didn’t stop Keith Urban from performing at the outdoor North Island Credit Union Amphitheater Friday night. One fan shared a photo of two concertgoers in blue ponchos on Twitter writing, “When a hurricane turned tropical storm is here but you have tickets to Keith Urban…you improvise.”
Despite alerts and requests for residents of Southern California to stay home during Tropical Storm Kay, some drivers braved Interstate 8 outside of San Diego Friday, dealing with perilous conditions. Winds gusted up to 25 mph on the interstate, while obstacles on the roads included falling rocks and even boulders. Footage captured on the roads showed one car flipped over on its side, while others landed in ditches. The interstate was briefly blocked Friday, leading to traveler Linda Carson to take a different path.
“They weren’t telling everybody where to go, so we went down this frontage road that eventually turned really bad … everybody (turned) around so we thought we’d come (back to the interstate) and sit here,” Carson told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell.
San Diego resident Abby Youngs was driving what she called a “behemoth” of a van on the roads in the rough conditions. “It’s pretty similar to driving on ice, so I kind of know when to let go and when to push,” Youngs told Wadell. “I’ve never driven this (van) … so we’ll see how it goes.” Wadell also noted that danger increased as the sun went down, due to a thick fog that enveloped the area Friday evening.
AccuWeather's Bill Wadell reported live from San Diego County on Sept. 9 as Tropical Storm Kay caused problems throughout the area.
Before the rain from Kay touched down across Los Angeles county, temperatures and humidity levels soared. Temperature records dating back almost 40 years were broken at numerous climate sites around the county. Most notably, in Los Angeles, the temperature rose to 102 degrees F, breaking the old record of 96 degrees F, set back in 1986. Just west of Los Angeles, in a coastal town named Oxnard, the temperature reached 96 degrees F, which broke the 38-year-old record of 94 degrees F. Camarillo, located to the north of Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara, north of Camarillo on the California coast, both broke temperature records when both sites recorded a high temperature of 95 degrees. According to the National Weather Service office in Los Angeles, since it was so hot, many residents did not see any rain for the first few hours of Kay's impacts because the precipitation was evaporating before hitting the ground. Meanwhile, relief is in sight for the people of L.A. According to the AccuWeather forecast, a return to much more seasonable high temps is straight ahead.
Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer reported from the Salton Sea as Tropical Storm Kay continued to cause flooding in Southern California.
Flood waters caused by Tropical Storm Kay coursed through Southern California on Friday, including in usually dry areas. Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer was live from the area Friday, reporting on the rapid floodwaters near Palm Springs. Timmer noted that water was filling up the typically dry Salton Sea, a shallow and landlocked body of water with a high saline concentration. A report at nearby El Centro Airport, located near Mexicali and the California-Mexico border, indicated that 1.30 inches of rainfall came down as of 6:15 p.m. PDT Friday evening.
Drone footage from the area showed both cars and a semi-trailer truck alike struggling to travel through the flood waters, with roads otherwise empty on Friday. Timmer said that another day of flash flooding was likely in store for the area on Saturday.
Tropical Storm Kay’s rainfall totals have affected major markets, such as San Diego, which set a daily record for rain on Friday. The city received 0.61 inches of rainfall Friday, smashing the previous record of 0.09 inches for the date set on Sept. 9, 1976. Rain farther inland in California has also been immense, particularly in Mt. Laguna, located approximately 55 miles east of San Diego and about 6,000 feet above sea level. The locale’s Pinion Point took in 5.60 inches of rain on Friday, while Mt. Laguna proper had 4.92 inches of rainfall. Flathead Flats, also in Mt. Laguna, had 4.41 inches of rainfall. Other inland places with notable rainfall measured Friday were Pine Valley (4.16 inches) and Mountain Spring (3.98 inches).
Tropical Storm Kay’s effects on Southern California have been numerous, with one of the most direct impacts being power outages in the area. Statewide, there were 63,716 customers without power as of 4 a.m. PDT Saturday, according to PowerOutage.US, as a result of Friday's unusually hot weather and the impacts of Tropical Storm Kay. A high concentration of the outages can be found on the southern coast, namely Los Angeles County, which accounts for 19,768 customers without power. Of these, 11,649 customers of provider Southern California Edison were without power, while there were 8,067 outages through the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power. At 1 a.m. PDT, over 10,000 citizens of Los Angeles had experienced outages after the first significant rainfall the city has had in months. Other counties affected by the outages are Ventura (4,568 out as of 4 a.m. PDT), Santa Barbara (2,862 outages) and Orange (1,510 outages).
Prior to the arrival of Kay, the Fairview Fire was almost entirely uncontrolled, spreading rapidly and killing at least two as thousands were forced to evacuate. As inches of heavy rain arrived, however, the situation began to rapidly improve. The fire was now at least 40% contained, and wet conditions will prevent the fire from spreading as quickly as it once had. According to local officials, the fire may be entirely contained within the next few days. More rain is anticipated in the area over the coming days, which will provide additional relief from what had been difficult firefighting conditions.
After Kay has brought heavy rain and strong wind gusts to Southern California, many may not recall a tropical system ever striking the Golden State. After all, with water temperatures much chillier in the West than along the East Coast, environmental conditions rarely allow for tropical storms and hurricanes to reach the United States in the Pacific. However, it is not unheard of.
One such event was Hurricane Kathleen, which formed in 1976. Kathleen moved northward as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. After making landfall in Mexico, Kathleen moved into California as a tropical storm, dropping over a foot of rain in some areas and causing major damage.
Longer ago, in 1939, a tropical storm made landfall near Los Angeles. Even rarer still, while observations were sparse at the time, evidence suggests a hurricane caused considerable damage in San Diego during the 19th century.
As a whole, while storms like Kay are indeed uncommon, they serve as a reminder that Southern California is not immune to tropical impacts.
In Southern California, rainfall totals from Kay have varied substantially over short distances, as the local terrain has played a major role in where the heaviest rain falls. However, the rain has been heavy enough to be beneficial across the entire area, and will help put a dent in the ongoing drought in the region.
According to Thursday's update from the U.S. Drought Monitor, over 99 percent of California was experiencing drought conditions, including the entirety of Southern California. This ranged from a moderate drought in the San Diego area to an exceptional drought, the highest possible category, in cities such as Bakersfield, California. While it typically takes more than one heavy rain event to break a drought, this will be a helpful first step as the wet winter months approach.
While Kay will continue to lose wind intensity and tropical characteristics over the coming days, the storm is a reminder that the hurricane season is far from over, both in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific basins. However, there are ways that those in hurricane-prone locations can prepare, even when none are in the forecast yet.
It is never too early to begin to make simple, quick preparations in the event a hurricane strikes. Make sure you have flashlights and extra batteries in the event of a power outage. Making sure your food supply is still good is another important way to prepare. It is also key to know where your crucial documents are so you can easily move them if they are in danger of flooding or debris. Other preparations include buying and knowing where a first aid kit is stored and having plenty of blankets and clothing nearby. Here are more tips on how to prepare for a hurricane in advance.
Due to cool waters and land interaction, Kay has lost wind intensity, now making it a tropical rainstorm. However, periods of unsettled weather are expected on Saturday regardless. In cities such as San Diego, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, showers and perhaps even a thunderstorm will make for wet and disruptive conditions for much of the day. In the mountainous regions of Southern California, more torrential downpours are likely, which will keep the threat of flooding elevated through this weekend.
As the outer bands of Kay drew further inland in Southern California on Friday, the clouds overhead gave for quite a unique show. Matt M shared a photo on Twitter of stratocumulus clouds over the Fairview Fire in California. Matt added that dust and blowing ash could be seen off the hills in the distance. Stratocumulus clouds are low-level clouds often reveal the depth of moist air at low levels and are arranged in rows, bands or even waves, according to NOAA.
While many often focus on the exact track of a tropical system's center, dangerous impacts can extend hundreds of miles outward in each direction. This has certainly been the case with Kay, which has had an especially large footprint. Puerto Peñasco, a Mexican resort town located roughly 100 miles southeast of Yuma, Arizona, remained far from Kay's center as the storm surged northward. Despite that, dangerous surf and strong wind gusts combined to produce substantial damage along the city's waterfront.
The East Pacific has been “semi active” so far this season, according to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski. Kay became the 11th named storm of the season on Sunday, Sept. 4. Through Sept. 9, the season has generated an accumulate cyclone energy, or ACE, of 88. ACE is a measure of the strength of tropical cyclones, named tropical storms and hurricanes, throughout their lifetime. The value of 88 so far this season is well below the normal of 147 for the date. Compare that to the Atlantic, which has generated five named storms thus far in 2022 with a total ACE value of 28.4.
AccuWeather forecasters say that both Kay and Bonnie from the East Pacific have impacted land this year, and 2-4 East Pacific storms could pose impacts to Mexico through the entirety of the season, which wraps up on Nov. 30.
Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season Forecast for 2022 by AccuWeather.
While several wildfires continue to burn across Southern California, the plumes of smoke they’ve given off are combining with the cyclone of Tropical Storm Kay. The Fairview Fire, in the town of Hemet, close to the Mexico border, has spread over nearly 30,000 acres and is just north of the tropical storm. The fire has a “very high potential to move to the west” according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, and could be tempered by incoming rainfall from thunderstorms. But those storms also bring the risk of lightning, which could further intensify fires.
NOAA GOES West GEOCOLOR Composite of Kay from Friday, Sept. 9, 2022.
San Diego, a place that is not often impacted by tropical storms, is experiencing just that this hurricane season before a handful of locations near the Atlantic Basin. While rain bands from Kay were beginning to push into Orange and Riverside counties in Southern California Friday afternoon, the Gulf of Mexico has been relatively quiet. Areas normally caught in the path of tropical weather have had a respite from the storms with the slow season, from Galveston, Texas, to New Orleans to the Florida Panhandle.
Out of the five named storms in the basin this season, only Tropical Storm Colin has impacted the mainland U.S.. While the system that became Tropical Storm Alex swept through South Florida, causing flooding, it wasn't named until after it had moved back into the Atlantic. Colin formed in early July, just before the drought of named storms in the Atlantic, off the coast of South Carolina before fizzling out 24 hours later.
It was a hot day in Los Angeles before rain and wind from Tropical Storm Kay slowly advanced northward toward the city. Sandbags were made available for residents who need them to help prevent flooding from the anticipated rain. Two lifeguards in Long Beach, California, were photographed late Friday morning as they filled sandbags amid the hot weather. Around midday, the temperature in Long Beach was 98 F, but the AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature was up to 105 F. However, the temperature began to cool when clouds and rain from Kay arrive in the Los Angeles area.
Lifeguards Noe Villalon, left, and Edson Alvarado make sandbags in Long Beach, Calif., Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. The remnants of a hurricane arriving Friday in Southern California are expected to bring heavy rain and cooler temperatures. Californians tried to weather the extremes of a changing climate Friday, as a punishing heat wave that has helped fuel deadly wildfires had the state teetering on the edge of blackouts for a 10th consecutive day while a tropical storm barreled ashore with the promise of cooler temperatures but also possible flooding. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Favorable weather and the work of firefighters have helped to further contain the Radford Fire near Big Bear, according to the San Bernardino National Forest. As rain from Kay reached Southern California, firefighters were able to hold the blaze at 1,088 acres on Friday, and containment increased to 59%. Rain on Thursday had also helped with containment. By Thursday night, the fire had been at 40% containment, up from the 2% containment the day prior.
The extended heat wave across California continued to be felt in Los Angeles on Friday as the city hit 102 degrees at around 12:30 p.m. local time. The city was already in the 90s before 8 a.m. on Friday morning, but those in the City of Angels will experience a quick change in temperature as Kay approaches closer. Accuweather forecasts that Los Angeles will be done with 100 and even 90-degree days for at least the next week. Temperatures on Saturday are forecast to only hit 85 degrees, nearly 20 degrees cooler than Friday.
When rain started falling in Palm Springs, California, on Friday afternoon, it quickly accumulated enough to become the wettest September day in three years for the city. Prior to today, Palm Springs has only recorded measurable precipitation in September twice since 2018 — 0.04 inches on Sept. 24, 2021 and 0.98 inches on Sept. 2, 2019. As of Friday evening, Palm Springs has measured an estimated 0.26 inches of rain, making it the wettest day the city has seen since 2019.
Multiple trees, branches and power lines were reported down throughout several San Diego suburbs as the outer bands of Tropical Storm Kay continued to wreak havoc with widespread downpours and powerful wind gusts. Communities hit hard include Dulzura, Camp, Valley Center, Santa Ysabel, Alpine, Rancho Bernardo and Lakeside, according to emergency officials. Trees were also reported down in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, just east of San Diego. Motorists were being alerted to avoid certain areas due to blocked roadways. Only a few hundred utility customers were reported without power, according to PowerOutage.us. Wind gusts were 30 to 50 mph at lower elevations, with gusts as high as 110 mph on mountain tops. The county was under a high wind warning while an areal flood watch was issued for the eastern region.
Wind gusts in the mountains of California have exceeded 100 mph at Cuyamaca Peak. As of Friday afternoon, the 109 mph wind gust reported at the peak is the strongest wind gust from Kay in California so far. Other locations such as Sill Hill and Big Black Mountain reported wind gusts above 95 mph. Five locations have recorded a wind gust of at least 82 mph in the California mountains above 1,000 feet in the past 24 hours.
Rainfall across California on Friday has topped 4 inches in some spots as a result of Kay. Pine Valley, California, has so far recorded 4.16 inches of rainfall, the most recorded in the state so far from Kay as of Friday afternoon. Mountain Springs, Mount Laguna and DeAnza Springs have all recorded precipitation above 3 inches. Additional rain could add to these totals as Kay continues impacting Southern California into the weekend.
Officials in California are alerting residents that the power grid is showing signs of stress and urging them to conserve energy as much as possible to avoid rolling blackouts. The much-needed rain from Tropical Storm Kay is unfortunately not expected to provide much relief from the intense and prolonged heat wave in the coming days, according to forecasters.
The California Independent System Operator (CAISO), which manages the state’s grid, was predicting a peak demand of 46,411 megawatts from 4 to 9 p.m., Friday, still well below the current 55,362-megawatt capacity, due to a “prolonged heat wave pushing up energy demand and tightening available power supplies,” the agency said.
The alert asks residents statewide to take these steps to help alleviate strain on the grid:
• Setting thermostats to 78 degrees or higher
• Avoid using major appliances like washing machines, dishwashers and ovens.
• Turn off unnecessary lights.
• Avoid charging electric vehicles.
This time of year, the sight of people prepping sandbags ahead of a tropical cyclone is more common along Florida's Atlantic Coast or parts of the Gulf Coast. But sandbags were distributed and deployed throughout the San Diego area ahead of Kay's approach, and for good reason. The tropical storm has made it within 140 miles of San Diego, close enough to drop an estimated 0.48 of an inch of rain and counting at San Diego International Airport, which is the city's official site of weather records. The more than a quarter-of-an-inch of precip was the first measurable rain in San Diego since 0.02 of an inch was recorded back on May 20, and is enough to make Friday the rainiest day in San Diego since way back in early spring when 0.27 of an inch was measured at the airport on March 28.
Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer intercepted violent flash flooding with debris along Interstate 8, west of Ocotillo, California, near the border with Mexico where a flash flood warning was in effect Friday afternoon.
“Violent flash flood out here right along I-8, headed toward Ocotillo,” Timmer said in the video, shouting over the sound of rushing water. He reported the flood was growing exponentially, with small boulders blocking portions of the interstate's westbound lane.
California is stepping up its firefighting resources and expanding the number of emergency personnel in anticipation of heavy rain and flooding due to Tropical Storm Kay. Potential impacts from Kay could extend into the weekend as the storm continues to move northward and rain will likely become more widespread.
The governor’s Office of Emergency Services said it was prepositioning over a dozen additional units and numerous emergency equipment covering various counties to respond to any severe weather as well as to the several wildfires that continue to intensify across the state.
Over 100 flights at San Diego International Airport have been delayed, according to FlightAware.com. The airport has seen far fewer cancelations as of noon, local time, with only 20 flights at the airport canceled as Kay’s winds and rainfall sweep through the city. The storm was roughly 140 miles south of San Diego as it continued its trek along the Baja California Peninsula. Tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 205 miles, mainly to the east of the eye over the Gulf of California, though wind gusts of hurricane force were reported in the mountains of Southern California and east and northeast of San Diego, according to the NWS.
As of 11 a.m. PDT, Tropical Storm Kay was moving northwestward, west of Mexico’s northern Baja California Peninsula. Heavy rains were falling over the northwestern parts of the country, as well as over Southern California. Maximum sustained winds were clocked at 45 mph as the storm moved along at 13 mph, roughly 140 miles south of San Diego.
Tropical storm warnings remain in effect for Punta Eugenia northward along the west coast of the peninsula to the U.S.-Mexico border, Bahia de Los Angeles northward along the east coast of the peninsula and southward to Puerto Libertad in mainland Mexico.
As heavy rain and gusty winds impacted a wildfire burn scar near Potrero, a town on the California-Mexico border, extreme meteorologist Reed Timmer explained why the flash flood and debris flow potential is increasing. “This is how a debris flow gets started. You get heavy rain over a scar like this,” Timmer said in a video shared on Twitter. “The water has a lot of difficulty absorbing into the terrain and picks up a lot of debris. It then gets swept out…in the form of dangerous debris flow.” Timmer noted the winds were gusting 60-80 mph at times as Kay continues to move closer.
The first flash flood warning in the U.S. as a result of impacts from Kay was issued for parts of Southern California. The National Weather Service office in Phoenix issued the warning for Seeley, Ocotillo and Coyote Wells in Imperial County, California, late Friday morning. The warning is expected to expire around 3:30 p.m., PDT. While Kay won’t make landfall in the U.S., it will still bring the threat of flooding.
The lime green areas show parts of Imperial County, California, that are under a flash flood warning. The dark green areas represent areas under an areal flood watch and brown areas under a high wind warning.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria announced on Friday that a homeless shelter in the city’s Midway district that can house 125 people is now open, increasing San Diego's total shelter capacity to 1,666 beds. The opening of this shelter could not come at a more critical time as rain and wind from Tropical Storm Kay are picking up in San Diego. “Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to quickly stand up 150 beds in Midway in this new sprung structure,” San Diego’s Regional Task Force on Homelessness said in a tweet Friday morning. “This new space will save lives and make a difference.”
The end of the heat is on the horizon for San Diego. Temperatures topped out at 95 on Saturday, Sept. 3, and 94 on Thursday, Sept. 8. But once the impacts from Kay are over, more seasonable and less humid weather will return to the region. San Diego’s average temperature for this time of year is 78 degrees Fahrenheit, but by Tuesday, temperatures will be a touch below normal, topping off in the mid-to-upper 70s. Temperatures will climb back to average by the end of the week. According to AccuWeather’s monthly forecast, temperatures will remain below 85 for the rest of the month.
As California residents know, the first places to experience high winds will be the mountains. Cuyamaca Peak, San Diego county’s second highest peak, standing tall at 6,500 feet elevation recorded a wind gust of 109 mph early Friday morning. Just to the east, at an elevation of 6,000 feet, a 93 mph wind gust was measured at Kwaaymii Point.
Nearly 12 miles to the north of both of these mountains is another weather station at 6,200 feet up on Mt. Laguana. Early Friday morning, the weather station was reporting wind gusts in the upper 60s. You can see the chaos on the Mt. Laguna Live Camera, where the rain is flying and pine needles are scurrying around on the roof.
Because few people are affected by the mountaintop winds, these gusts often go unreported. The Mt. Laguna and Cuyamaca Peak station readings are thanks to weather stations installed by UCSD's HPWREN research network. At lower elevations, where most people live, winds were gusting into the 30-50 mph range.
A steady light-to-moderate rain was falling in the San Diego area during the morning rush hour, extreme meteorologist Reed Timmer reported on Friday. Timmer pointed out that there was a “pleasant” petrichor smell in the area, which usually occurs when rain falls after a prolonged period of warm and dry weather. Hear more from Timmer below, including where he said the greatest risk of flooding is expected.
As Tropical Storm Kay continued its northwest march Friday morning, rain from its outer bands began making its way into western Arizona. As of around 9 a.m. local time, some scattered precipitation moved through Yuma, which is situated in the southwest corner of the state near both the California and Mexico borders. Temperatures were in the low 80s there Friday morning and AccuWeather forecasters expect the rain to pick up throughout the day as moisture from Kay spreads farther across the region. Yuma bills itself as the "Gateway to the Great Southwest" and Kay is poised to send precipitation right through that gateway and across much of the western half of Arizona and even into southern Nevada as far north as Las Vegas into Saturday.
The Bobcat Fire scorched 116,000 acres of land in the Angeles National Forest back in 2020, and now, with the threat of heavy rain from Tropical Storm Kay, the area will be vulnerable to flash flooding as well as mud and debris flows. Fires can leave areas at risk for flooding and mudslides for years due to a lack of vegetation and charred ground. Even less rain than normal can trigger a flash flood as rain that would normally be absorbed can runoff quickly. In addition, burned soil can act as a water repellent, similar to pavement, according to the National Weather Service.
Members of the San Bernardino County Fire Department hose down hot spots from the Bobcat Fire on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020, in Valyermo, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
CBS Los Angeles reported that surrounding communities like Monrovia and Sierra Madre are “hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.” The Sierra Madre Police Department told CBS that Bailey Canyon Park may be forced to close due to the inclement weather triggered by Kay.
As of 8 a.m. local time Friday, Kay’s maximum sustained winds remained around 50 mph, down from 60 mph around 2 a.m. Friday morning. The National Hurricane Center said the government of Mexico has “discontinued tropical storm warnings for mainland Mexico south of Puerto Libertad, for the east coast of the Baja California Peninsula south of Bahia de Los Angeles, and for the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula south of Punta Eugenia.” A tropical storm warning was still in effect for parts of the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula.
Kay is moving to the west-northwest at 13 mph and is about 165 miles south of San Diego. The storm is expected to turn toward the west-northwest and slow down later Friday before turning fully to the west on Saturday. Heavy, flooding rain from Tropical Storm Kay continued to track northwest into Southern California and Arizona Friday morning. “Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 205 miles (335 km) mainly to the east of the center over the Gulf of California,” the NHC said.
AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell captured video of cloudy skies and calm water along the coast in San Diego Friday morning. As Kay churns northwards, the skies will turn dark and waves will crash on the shoreline. A gale warning is in effect for waters along the coast of San Diego. As winds pick up, seas of 8-12 feet are expected, which will make navigation hazardous for any vessel on the water.
(Photo/Bill Wadell)
A soggy forecast is in store for San Diego. AccuWeather meteorologists are forecasting 1-2 inches of rain for San Diego, from Tropical Storm Kay. On average, San Diego receives 9.79 inches of rain annually, which means up to 20% of the city’s annual rainfall is possible as Kay moves by.
The rainfall can cause flooding and erosion specifically in areas with little to no vegetation. Residents in San Diego and surrounding towns are preparing ahead of the rain. According to CBS 8, the county and Cal Fire are providing free bags and sand at numerous fire stations.
Officials in Mexico are blaming three fatalities in the southwestern state of Guerrero on Kay, according to Reuters. Impacts from Kay started on Saturday, Sept. 3, in southwestern Mexico. Heavy rain caused flooding and strong winds knocked down trees resulting in numerous power outages. According to the Guerrero Civil Protection, two adults and a child died when their vehicle was swept away by floodwaters in a rural area of Acapulco, which is a coastal town located 230 miles south of Mexico City, Reuters reported.
Gusty offshore winds to the north of Tropical Storm Kay allowed for a warm start to the morning in Southern California on Friday — just as rain from the storm arrived. The easterly winds descended the mountains in the area, causing temperatures to climb. At 5 a.m. PDT the temperature at the San Diego Airport was 89 F, which is more than 20 degrees above the normal low of 67 for the date and even a couple of notches above the normal high temperature for Sept. 9 of 87 degrees. Humid conditions added to a tropical feel to the air, but cloud cover and a gusty breeze suppressed AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures by a few degrees. The temperature dropped by a couple of degrees as light rain began falling, with a temperature of 87 being reported shortly after 7 a.m. PDT. Elsewhere, other locations in Southern California had temperature readings in the upper 80s to near 90 F, including 88 at Brown Field, Lemon Grove and Carlsbad, and 87 at Vista.
A radar installation at the Edwards Air Force Base in Kern County, California, located to the northeast of Los Angeles, is currently not in operation, and the National Weather Service said the radar will remain out of service through next week. This radar serves the western Mojave Desert and its outage comes at a time when impacts from Tropical Storm Kay are starting to become more widespread in Southern California. NWS officials in Las Vegas said in order to make up for the gap in coverage of weather conditions, radars at the NWS offices in Los Angeles, San Diego and Hansford, California, will be utilized. AccuWeather’s radar Friday morning showed Kay’s heavy rain pushing across the California-Mexico border and toward the San Diego area.
According to AccuWeather meteorologists, wind gusts of over 50 mph will precede Kay’s rainfall over Southern California, especially over the mountains and through the canyons. High wind warnings have been put in place from San Diego to Chino, which is just east of Los Angeles. With more than 97% of the Golden State experiencing moderate drought conditions or worse, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the gusty winds will bring an elevated fire risk to the region.
As Kay inched closer to the United States on Thursday, parts of Kay could already be seen as far inland as Las Vegas. On Thursday afternoon, the outer cirrus clouds from Kay were visible in the Vegas sky, according to NWS Las Vegas. Moisture from Kay is expected to reach as far inland as Phoenix and even Las Vegas as the tropical system potentially scrapes the West Coast.
As Kay made landfall in Baja California Sur on Thursday, video of flooding was shared online from the hurricane's impact. Footage from the municipality of Mulegé showed flooding encompassing part of the municipal and leaving multiple homes partly underwater. In addition to the flooding, the peninsula experienced hurricane conditions for several hours with sustained winds of 75 mph at landfall, according to CNN.
As Kay continued its north-northwest track along the coast of Baja California and California, the storm also moved closer to Las Vegas. Tropical systems within 400 miles of Las Vegas are quite rare, and only three were hurricane strength when they were within 400 miles of Vegas, according to NWS Las Vegas. Most notably, Hurricane Nora in 1997 and Hurricane Doreen in 1977 both came within 400 miles of Las Vegas. Even though Kay is now a tropical storm, the rarity of a tropical system making impacts in Sin City remains and the tropical moisture could bring thunderstorms as far inland as Las Vegas.
The governor of the Mexican state of Baja California announced that classes at all education levels would be suspended on Friday, Sept. 9, due to impacts from Kay. “Friends, in order to prevent possible incidents as a result of the weather conditions caused by Hurricane Kay, classes at all public and private education levels are suspended in Baja California on Friday, September 9,” Marina del Pilar said over Twitter in Spanish. Due to the potential for flooding rainfall and wind damage, Kay is a 2 on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes in Mexico. Widespread wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph are expected on the western coast of the Baja Peninsula. “I invite you to take the necessary precautions in your homes and not put our loved ones at risk,” del Pilar added.
The wave of wet weather and increased moisture from Kay should bring some relief to Southern California, though strong winds could agitate burning wildfires. Kay is forecast to bring 2-4 inches of rainfall in the mountains of Southern California, though localized amounts could be as high as 8 inches. While this rainfall could assist with wildfires, thunderstorms and gusty winds pushing into the region could bring an elevated fire risk due to how dry the region has been lately. The majority of Southern California has been experiencing severe drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
A firefighter takes a hose to a burning property while battling the Fairview Fire Monday, Sept. 5, 2022, near Hemet, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
If Kay weakens to, and remains, a tropical storm by Saturday, Sept. 10, it could be the closest tropical storm to approach Los Angeles since the 1970s. According to the current Eye Path forecast, Kay is expected to bring rain to Baja California, Mexico, and Southern California on Saturday before it curves west and starts to dissipate. No tropical storm has been within 200 miles of Los Angeles since the year 2000, according to AccuWeather Senior Weather Editor Jesse Ferrell, but Kay might surpass that distance and then some.
Hurricane Hyacinth (1972), Hurricane Doreen (1977) and Hurricane Norman (1978) are some of the closest storms to approach Los Angeles as they weakened into tropical storms. However, none of the storms retained that strength before sweeping through California.
Kay made landfall over the Baja California Peninsula as a Category 1 hurricane Thursday afternoon, local time, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm crashed ashore near Bahia Asuncion with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, moving north northwest at 14 mph. Within a few hours, Kay had weakened to a tropical storm as it continued to move along the west coast of Baja California.
CAL FIRE and San Diego County are distributing sandbags to those who live in unincorporated areas as southern California braces for any impacts from Tropical Storm Kay’s damaging winds and heavy rains.
Forecasters say the track of the storm may miss the region altogether. But just in case, emergency officials were making sand and bags available for free at nearly 30 area fire stations, from Escondido to Borrego Springs. Some locations were only providing bags for residents’ use.
All eyes were on Hurricane Kay Thursday as it sideswiped Mexico's Baja California peninsula, packing heavy rains and 80 mph sustained winds. Zooming out a little bit on AccuWeather's satellite tool revealed the other hurricane making headlines, Earl, which was swirling just south of Bermuda with 105 mph sustained winds. For a time on Thursday afternoon, the two hurricanes were situated at almost the exact same latitude, according to NHC data. Kay was churning north-northwest at latitude 26.6 North when the NHC issued its 2 p.m. EDT update and Earl was heading north-northeast at latitude 29.7 North. The near-parallel hurricanes made for a spectacular satellite shot.
Each storm is forecast to curve outward away from the North American landmass in the hours and days ahead, but as AccuWeather forecasters have been warning, Kay is expected to bring potentially dangerous impacts to Southern California and the desert Southwest, and Earl could make its presence felt along the Eastern Seaboard in the form of coastal flooding and rough surf.
A wide satellite shot showing Hurricane Kay near Mexico in the eastern Pacific basin and Hurricane Earl near Bermuda in the Atlantic basin on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022.
It has been abnormally dry across Southern California since the start of 2022, but widespread rain from Kay will help to boost annual rainfall totals to levels closer to average. From Jan. 1 through Sept. 7, Downtown Los Angeles has measured just 2 inches of rain, or 19% of normal, and San Diego has measured 2.51 inches of rain, 37% of normal. Both cities are predicted to receive between 1 and 2 inches of rain in the coming days, which could double the rainfall totals up to this point in 2022. Higher rainfall amounts are forecast in the surrounding mountains, elevating the risk of mudslides and debris flows, particularly around burn scars.
The impending rain may not be enough to erase this year’s rainfall deficit, but it will far exceed the typical monthly rainfall totals. The average September rainfall is 0.12 of an inch in San Diego and 0.13 of an inch in Los Angeles. The monthly rainfall records were set when another tropical system, the Long Beach Storm of 1939, made landfall in Southern California on Sept. 25 of that year. During that month, Los Angeles measured 5.67 inches of rain while San Diego measured 3.14 inches of rain.
Rain from Tropical Storm Kay is well needed across the drought-stricken Southwest, but too much rain could lead to flash flooding across two states. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 97% of California is under a severe drought — a level 3 out of 5 on the intensity scale. In the neighboring state of Nevada, just over 50% of the state is experiencing an extreme drought — level 4 out of 5. Just south, in Arizona, 60% of the state is experiencing a moderate drought — level 1 out of 5. Tropical downpours from Kay will spread from the California-Mexico border as far north as Las Vegas, Nevada. These downpours could result in flash flooding, mudslides and travel delays. Although the rain will be beneficial to help ease some drought concerns, much more will be needed to completely erase the ongoing drought.
Rain, clouds and wind associated with Hurricane Kay are expanding across Baja California as the system moves northward toward the United States. Kay downgraded to a tropical storm on Thursday evening, but people should not let their guard down. “Despite the loss of wind intensity as Kay moves northward, the impacts to California will be notable,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham. Kay has been rated as a 1 on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes in the U.S. and a 2 on the scale for Mexico due to the elevated risk of flooding, mudslides and travel delays. In the U.S., the worst of the rain is forecast to impact San Diego and the areas north and east of the city, but rain could spread inland as far north and east as Las Vegas and Phoenix.
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