Today is going to be rough for many communities across the county.
By the time you open this newsletter, our region should already be experiencing Hurricane Hilary. We’ve rounded up some things you need to know to get through it.
As of Saturday afternoon, city of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria asked residents to stay home, as the storm will hit hardest Sunday afternoon. There will be high winds up to 50 mph. And the areas of Mission Valley and Tijuana River Valley will experience flooding.
Here’s What San Diegans Need to Know About Hurricane Hilary
We tapped one of the best weather journalists to answer common questions about Hurricane Hilary. As Robert Krier explained, Hilary will lose its hurricane status before it reaches San Diego. It’s expected to be a tropical storm when it passes through.
The top five areas to avoid: In general, officials are asking the public to avoid any unnecessary travel because of flooding. We rounded up the top five places that experience the most flooding in the city of San Diego. Read more here.
Lights out: San Diego Gas & Electric told our MacKenzie Elmer on Friday that the utility has no plans to shut down power (this is known as a public safety power shutoff). Elmer explained why grid-connected solar systems won’t provide your home power, if conditions call for a power shutoff. Click here to read more.
We saw dozens of people this weekend stocking up on water bottles. Grocery stores had rows and rows of water bottles at their entrances. There haven’t been any notices about issues with our drinking water as of Saturday, but if the storm damages a water pipe officials could put out a boil water advisory. Our Tigist Layne explained how to disinfect water, in case of an emergency. Read it here.
Behind Voice: We know readers don’t come to us for minute-by-minute updates. But we do have a role to play. We will be watching what happens today, Monday and the days after the storm.
Stories to Read in the Storm
- Education reporter Jakob McWhinney published a fascinating story about a group of UC San Diego researchers who are studying how the active ingredient in magic mushrooms affects phantom limb pain. McWhinney toured the lab, which has some psychedelic vibes. Read the full story here.
- A few months ago, Tigist Layne wrote that Palomar Health had seen a significant financial dip during its most recent fiscal year. Officials with the North County healthcare district did not like our story. Layne explains what they have been doing to convince their stakeholders and staff that Palomar Health is “going to be in pretty good shape.” Read more about Palomar Health here.
- I wrote about a business community that is starting over after the city cut ties with its local business association. The nonprofit Diamond Business Association will no longer serve business owners in Lincoln Park, Encanto and Chollas View. Read more here.