SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Rainfall totals from across San Diego County show that Tropical Storm Hilary brought heavy rain and strong wind, in some cases setting records for the month of August.
2-day rain totals from the National Weather Service of San Diego show that rainfall largely matched what was expected with original forecast models from days before the storm arrived.
The heaviest rainfall in San Diego arrived over local mountains, with Ranchita recording 7.38" and Mount Laguna recording 7.11". For inland locations in the county, Lake Wohlford saw the heaviest, with a total of 3.52". Fallbrook saw 3.08" total and in Valley Center 2.79" were recorded.
These latest totals show that many cities in San Diego County broke their record for the wettest day in August - EVER. San Diego, Oceanside, and El Cajon, among other cities, all saw more rain on Sunday compared to any other single day in August since records have been recorded.
What was the wettest August day on record for San Diego cities? According to the National Weather Service, it used to be August 17, 1977, when a post-hurricane brought record rainfall to most of the county. Now the new record is August 20, 2023, for several cities, including San Diego, Vista, Oceanside Harbor, Escondido, Ramona and El Cajon.
For Escondido, Vista, and Cuyamaca, this single-day rain was more rain than ever recorded in an entire month, according to the National Weather Service.
- Escondido, 2.66 inches, breaking the record of 2.20 inches in August 1945;
- Vista, 2.12 inches, breaking the record of 1.78 inches in August 1977;
- Cuyamaca, 4.11 inches, breaking the record of 4.10 inches in August 1977.
The total of 1.82" at San Diego International Airport made it not only the wettest day of the year so far in the city of San Diego but also the wettest of any day since February 2017.
For San Diego coastal communities, Carlsbad was one of the highest in rainfall totals with 2.50" and National City was close behind with 2.29". While some residents reported not seeing as much rain as they expected with this storm, totals fell in line nearly exactly with forecast totals that meteorologists released prior to the storm.
To look at rain totals released by the National Weather Service from across San Diego, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties, click here.
Wind gusts also reached forecasted levels. The strongest gusts were recorded across local mountain ranges between 60 and 80 mph and the strongest gust hit Big Black Mountain at 84 mph. Even coastal communities saw some of that intense wind, with gusts between 30 and 50 mph. Camp Pendleton recorded one gust of 52 mph. To look at the strongest wind gusts recorded through this storm, click here.