Be warned — your Disneyland plans could be impacted by something a little unexpected.

While tropical storms and hurricanes are something that those traveling to Disney World in Florida know to be prepared for, it’s less of a concern (generally) for those on the west coast. But this week might be a little different.

UPDATE: On August 20th, Hurricane Hilary weakened to a Category 1 hurricane. It is expected to weaken to a tropical storm before reaching Southern California, according to the New York Times. It is still expected to bring heavy rain and flooding to the area.

The National Hurricane Center has issued the following warning as of 9AM on August 19th: “Hilary headed toward Central Baja California Peninsula…Catastrophic and Life-Threatening Flooding Likely Over Baja California and the Southwestern U.S. Through Monday…”

The National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center are closely watching what is now Hurricane Hilary, currently located closer to Mexico.

According to their updates from 3AM MDT on August 17th, 2023, the Hurricane Center has warned that Hilary “has the potential to bring significant impacts to the Baja California Peninsula and portions of the southwestern United States this weekend and early next week.”

They note that it is “too soon” to determine the exact locations and the magnitude of any wind impacts, but people in these areas should monitor Hilary. A Tropical Storm watch is in effect for southern portions of Baja California Sur and more watches or warnings may be added today.

They expect that rainfall impacts from Hilary in the southwestern U.S. will peak on Sunday and Monday.

Here’s a timetable showing the arrival time of tropical storm-force winds. It looks like that could be closer to Sunday at 8PM MDT for areas of Southern California.

For reference, here’s a look at Disneyland on a map. You can see where that is positioned (just above the line dividing California and Baja California), which does appear to fall within the current projected path of the potential tropical storm force winds.

The New York Times shows the expected intensification of the storm — from a category 1 to a category 4 and then back down. It appears that by the time it is projected to be closer to San Diego, however, it is anticipated that it’ll only be a tropical storm.

They expect that “Rain will begin Friday in portions of the Southwest and will peak Sunday into Monday.”

How exactly this could impact Disneyland’s operations is unclear. In the past, in Disney World, we’ve seen some of the parks close early or close for entire days due to hurricanes and some tropical storms.

Thus far, Disneyland has not issued any official notice about any steps they intend to take, but we’re on the lookout for updates. If you are in Southern California or were planning to visit this weekend/next week, we recommend you monitor the weather updates carefully.

#Hilary is a hurricane!

How will this affect Mexico and California? We're LIVE today tracking the topics. Check out @conexiontiempo for Spanish-language updates! pic.twitter.com/hQdhKGwYnm

— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) August 17, 2023

 

 

 

You may also want to carefully consider where you were planning to stay for your trip. Is it close enough to Disneyland that you can quickly and easily head there should the parks shut down early? Do you have things to entertain yourself and your group in the hotel room — like board games, etc.? Do you have batteries, external phone chargers, and similar things should you need them?

Be sure you’ve also got some other things packed that you might need even if there are no park shutdowns whatsoever but just rainfall and stronger winds:

• Raincoats/umbrellas
• Waterproof shoes
• A waterproof park bag

We’ll continue to monitor things with this storm and let you know what we find. Stay tuned for all the latest news.

 

Have you ever been to a Disney park during a big storm? Tell us in the comments.