A rare late-season tropical system began battering Southern California coastal communities on Friday, prompting local emergency declarations, tearing apart boardwalks and triggering a historic tropical storm watch for San Diego.
Tropical Storm Rachel, which weakened from hurricane status in the Eastern Pacific, is forecast to move toward northern Baja California or Southern California late Saturday into early Sunday, according to FOX Weather. The National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm watch for San Diego, marking only the second time the alert has been issued for the area. The first occurred ahead of Hurricane Hilary in 2023.
High surf and emergency declarations
Even before the storm’s core arrived, tidal surges and powerful waves brought severe coastal flooding Friday morning. In Newport Beach, city officials declared a local emergency after ocean waters inundated neighborhoods across the Balboa Peninsula, CBS News reported.
City leaders urged residents and visitors to stay away from the area, where floodwaters reached nearly two feet on Balboa Boulevard. High tide hit shortly before 9 a.m. Friday, leaving vehicles partially submerged and forcing residents to wade through water.
“It’s absolutely brutal out there, unfortunately. We’ve got certain sections of the beach that have come up, where the tides have come up onto our streets and into homes,” Newport Beach City Councilmember Erik Weigand said, according to CBS News. Weigand noted that tidal pushes were projected to rise 20 inches higher than regular high tide projections.
Newport Beach Fire Department Chief Jeff Boyles warned people against driving, walking or biking through flooded roadways, telling CBS News that conditions could worsen on Sunday morning because of larger ocean swells and higher tides.
Boardwalk destruction and structural threats
Further north, along the Long Beach Peninsula, heavy surf destroyed sections of the wooden boardwalk on Friday morning, the New York Post reported. Chunks of the shattered boardwalk drifted out to sea as high tide rolled in.
Erosion from the waves undermined beachfront properties, leaving one residence on the brink of falling into the ocean. Fire officials red-tagged that home on Thursday, while two adjacent properties were given yellow tags, according to the New York Post. All three homes were unoccupied, and safety crews evaluated the site to determine whether nearby areas would require evacuation orders.
The National Weather Service maintained a coastal flood advisory through Tuesday, cautioning that south-facing beaches in Newport Beach, Long Beach, Dana Point and Laguna Beach face the greatest risk. Forecasters warned that tides on Sunday could run 1 to 1 ½ feet above astronomical tide charts, with Monday storm surges potentially reaching around seven feet, the New York Post reported.
Rain and wind outlook across the Southwest
Beyond the coastline, forecasters expect Tropical Storm Rachel to spread heavy moisture and strong winds inland. Rainfall is forecast to expand across California on Saturday before flash flood risks peak on Sunday, according to FOX Weather.
A level two out of four flash flood threat covers parts of the Southwest extending from Southern California to Utah, including Phoenix and Las Vegas. In those regions, rainfall totals could reach two to three inches, the FOX Forecast Center reported. While the moisture will bring flood risks, it is also expected to break a prolonged heat wave across Southern California.
Forecasters expect storm moisture to reach the Sierra Nevada, bringing high-elevation snow, and to push as far north as Wyoming and Montana heading into early next week. Officials continue to monitor structural integrity along threatened beaches as peak tides approach.
