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California is expecting a hurricane for the first time in 84 years. The last time the state was hit by something of this nature was 1939, when a tropical storm, now named El Cordonazo, struck California land. Now we are expecting Hurricane Hilary to strike this weekend and early next week. There is a possibility that the hurricane weakens and is reduced to a tropical storm by the time it hits land, but for now it remains to be seen if that will happen or not. Either way, we can expect unprecedented rainfall and windstorms throughout much of Southern California.

The storm is expected to hit late Saturday evening into Sunday morning.

The hurricane will likely hang over California for the entirety of Sunday and most of Monday. The eye of the storm is expected to land above San Bernadino County and remain heavily in that region for most of it’s time over California.

For those living in Kern County, there is an effective storm watch in place. It is expected that rainfall may start here sometime on Saturday and increase as the weekend goes on.

Experts anticipate wind speeds getting up to 30 miles per hour amidst the heavy rain.

Based on the trajectory of the storm, Kern County is likely to receive approximately three to four inches of rain. There is a high risk of flooding, so we advise everyone to remain diligent and prepare properly.

Since California is not typically on the path for a hurricane, many Californians struggle to know how to prepare. We advise that you stock up on nonperishable food items in case power goes out and you lose refrigeration. With this, you also want to be sure that the food can be prepared with little to no cooking, as a power outage can affect what cooking you are able to do. When at the store getting these food items, you will also want to make sure you have enough drinking water. We suggest getting a pack of bottled water to have on hand in case. Also, make sure your car has a full tank of gas. This is imperative in case an evacuation notice is announced. You will likely not be able to get gas if in an evacuation zone and it is hard to know when you would next be able to stop to get gas.

Ultimately, when the storm hits, do the best you can to remain calm and ride out the storm peacefully.