Tropical Storm Rachel is expected to make landfall near the San Diego-Tijuana area late Saturday evening.
National Hurricane Center, The Sacramento Bee
During one of the strongest Pacific hurricane seasons on record, with the monster Hurricane Polo making landfall in Baja California Sur several weeks ago and several impacts on Hawaii over the past two months, another storm is now aiming a little closer to home.
Tropical Storm Rachel is expected to impact Southern California and Baja this weekend, bringing intense rain and strong winds to the Los Angeles and San Diego areas.
As of late Thursday morning, Rachel was just below hurricane strength with maximum winds of 70 mph and was located over Southern California. The National Hurricane Center expects Rachel to make landfall near or just south of Tijuana late Saturday evening, as it merges with a trough expected to cool temperatures this weekend.
In this forecast, torrential rain and wind gusts above 40 mph will extend well north into Southern California through Sunday. After that, the weakening storm will send high winds and sporadic flooding across western Arizona and as far as Las Vegas, with rain reaching the Salt Lake City area by Monday.
Remarkably, thanks to how quickly it will begin moving toward the California coast on Saturday, the storm is now expected to retain its tropical characteristics near landfall, meaning Rachel could keep its rotating core tight instead of dumping out as a deluge of messy but still problematic downpours. If it makes landfall in California, near San Diego, it would be the first tropical storm to hit California since September 25, 1939.
Regardless, Rachel is expected to rapidly weaken and lose its tropical characteristics shortly thereafter, causing torrential rains inland through Sunday and Monday.
Winds are expected to be strongest on the eastern side of the storm, meaning winds gusting above 40 mph will be mostly confined to rugged terrain and the Mojave Desert. That said, evolving tropical storms can pack a punch with gusts and sporadic showers as energy that was previously built up in the center of the storm is released outward.
These rains and storms are expected to begin in Southern California Saturday afternoon in San Diego, and later tonight for the Los Angeles metro area.
Widespread precipitation amounts greater than an inch are expected from San Diego to Las Vegas, with generally lesser amounts for metro Los Angeles. Due to the nature of tropical storms, where rain clusters in lines, some areas will experience isolated amounts in excess of 2 to 3 inches.
This story was originally published October 8, 2026 at 1:46 p.m..
Sean Macaday
The Sacramento Bee
Sean Macaday covers weather for McClatchy Media in California. Originally from Chicago, Sean worked covering weather for local television in Minnesota for 6 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in meteorology and marine science from the University of Miami.
Gn usa
