From August 19th to the 21st, 2023, Hurricane Hilary, later classified as a tropical storm, stirred apprehension and panic among Las Vegas residents. The trigger for this distress was the lack of understanding or familiarity with the necessary preparations for such a natural disaster.
Andrea Gonzalez, a teacher at Desert Oasis High School, mentions, “It was just a little bit of rain. In my opinion, that is what we saw and felt here in Vegas. Although, as far as people reacting, I think a lot of times people hop into panic mode based on other people’s comments or what they might see in the media.”
Hurricane Hilary, initially classified as a Category 4 Pacific hurricane, unleashed substantial rainfall and powerful winds along the Pacific Coast of Mexico, the Baja California Peninsula, and the Southwestern United States. As a result of this meteorological event, mudslides and widespread flooding was caused across several regions.
“Even though Hurricanes are bad and you see how devastating they are, you are in Las Vegas. Las Vegas is surrounded by mountains, they are the things that protect us. They protect this place. Mountains are going to protect us from hurricanes or at least reduce the impact,” Cloud-Rome Santos, a student at DOHS, comments.
Between August 17 and 18, the storm underwent a rapid intensification phase. It reached its peak strength, with sustained winds up to 145 mph. However, before reaching California the following day, Hilary began to weaken due to changing weather conditions.
“I think it’s important to prepare for the worst case scenario but also not to lose your cool,” Gonzalez continues, “That’s what’s going to be needed during an actual storm and hurricane, or any sort of natural disaster. I think your faith and hope that everything is going to be okay as long as you prepare for it then you will know it’ll be okay. You know, just don’t lose your head due to worrying.”
Persistent, heavy rainfall was forecasted, with some areas expecting to receive an amount of rainfall equivalent to more than a year’s average. In response to this looming threat, the Weather Prediction Center (WPC) issued flood watches. This affected approximately 26 million people around Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah.
Nevada had only received 9.20 inches of precipitation due to Tropical Storm Hilary. With that being said, the only major conflict was Mt. Charleston flooding. Even though false claims led Las Vegas residents to believe that the MSG Sphere was damaged, the impact Hilary had on the Las Vegas area wasn’t even close to the damage it created in California and Mexico.
“What we experienced here was definitely not a hurricane,” Gonzalez commented.
