Tropical Storm Rachel makes landfall in Baja California, floods Southern California coast

Rachel's center came ashore in northern Baja California on Saturday night, passing within about 90 miles southeast of San Diego before weakening to a post tropical system. San Diego fell under a tropical storm watch, only the second in the city's history after Hilary in 2023. A Level 3 of 4 flash flood threat runs through Sunday across Southern California, southern Nevada, southwest Utah, and northwest Arizona.

Coastal flooding hit before the center ever arrived. High tide drove a foot of water into parts of Long Beach and Newport Beach, where officials issued an evacuation order for the 6400 and 6500 blocks of Seaside Walk and declared homes along the shore unsafe. Forecasters expect one to five inches of rain across the region, enough to threaten flash floods and mudslides in the burn scar and mountain areas.

Rachel is the third major storm to batter Southern California in six weeks, a relentless autumn that has tested drainage systems built for a drier climate. Forecasters warn the misery may not be over: remnant moisture from Hurricane Simon, bearing down on Mexico's Pacific coast this weekend, could stream north into the central United States early next week and feed another round of heavy rain.