By the time Hurricane Hilary rolled ashore in Southern California on Sunday, it had been downgraded to a tropical storm, but that didn’t prevent it from unleashing large amounts of rain, causing flooding. Many airports in the region saw delayed flights or other slowdowns.
Aside from minor leakage in buildings, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) experienced some “power drops” throughout the day, all of which were resolved, according to a Los Angeles World Airports spokesperson. Dedicated business aviation hub Van Nuys Airport weathered the storm well, with some normal ponding in areas that typically get that condition with the usual rains of the year.
The normally arid Palm Springs area reportedly received more than half a year’s worth of normal precipitation in a period of 24 hours. As a result, the city suffered serious flooding with downed trees, roads washed away or flooded and more than 10,000 residents left without power, leading the city manager to declare a local state of emergency. However, the city’s two airports—Palm Springs International (KPSP) and Jacqueline Cochran Regional (KTRM)—reported no major damage and only operational delays.
Atlantic Aviation told AIN that while its facility at KTRM closed on Sunday “out of abundance of caution,” its FBO at KPSP remained open to support storm team responses for the Coachella Valley. The KTRM location reopened within a matter of hours.
Despite the numerous closed roads and highways in the area, Desert Jet, the other FBO at KTRM stated it received several private flights on Monday as homeowners returned to evaluate damage to their properties.
According to the National Weather Service, Sunday was the wettest on record in San Diego. Ray Richmond, president and general manager of Crownair Aviation, one of the FBOs at the city’s Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport (KMYF), told AIN they came through the storm unscathed. “We had quite a bit of rain and wind, but fortunately I don’t think it reached levels that were thought to be likely.”
Further south, at Cabo San Lucas at the tip of the Baja Peninsula, PrimeSky, the FBO at San Jose del Cabo Airport received no damage from the storm.