Hilary was not a tropical storm when it entered California, yet it had the same impact, study shows

By JOHN ANTCZAK
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A new study has concluded that former Hurricane Hilary was actually no longer a tropical storm but essentially had the same impact when its destructive remnants entered California last August. The report by the National Hurricane Center followed a routine post-cyclone analysis. Hurricane Hilary had moved north off Mexico’s Pacific coast and weakened to a tropical storm before making landfall in northern Baja California in Mexico, where it became less defined as it encountered mountainous terrain and other atmospheric conditions. The report says the storm lost tropical characteristics and degenerated to a post-tropical cyclone over northern Baja California before a new system absorbed its remnants and moved into the United States. Damage was estimated at $900 million in the U.S.