Palm Springs is famously a desert town which saw record high temperatures earlier this year in the heatwave that gripped parts of the US. But today it has found itself in the firing line of Storm Hilary.

The squall brought the heaviest hour of rain ever recorded in the town, says California Governor Gavin Newsom. Nearby areas were also quickly flooded.

Gov Newsom said the town had received more rain in a single hour than in the whole of its history.

Experts have warned that these arid areas struggle to absorb heavy rain, making the environment prime for dangerous flash flooding.

At least one person is dead in Mexico after Hilary landed in the Baja California peninsula earlier on Sunday.

No deaths have been reported in California yet but authorities have warned they expect the storm to bring "catastrophic and life-threatening flooding”.

The fast-moving system is due to peak in the coming hours, but accounts of serious damage are already widespread.

Hilary's torrential rain has caused flash flooding and landslips, downed trees and power lines and put roads, cars and shops underwater.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The latest update is out from weather authorities at the National Hurricane Centre.

The 23:00 bulletin notes Storm Hilary has passed over Los Angeles and is now about 120km (75 miles) north of Bakersfield and nearing the Death Valley desert region.

Officials continue to warn drivers to stay off the roads in Los Angeles and Ventura due to “heavy rain and dangerous road flooding”.

Flash flood warnings remain in place across southern California until at least 03:00 local time. The storm is expected to hit its peak at midnight local time.

Regan Morris
BBC News, Los Angeles

As Californians prepared for the storm, the grocery stores were packed like a day before Thanksgiving or Super Bowl Sunday.

Locals filled their gas tanks, stocked up on bottled water and non-perishable food and reminded each other to charge their batteries.

But no one was prepared for “Hurriquake,” as it’s now known. The unexpected earthquake hitting north of Los Angeles is what everyone is talking about.

The 5.1 quake in Ojai shook the region and the nerves of people already on edge.

I was walking my dogs in my Hollywood neighbourhood during light rain – the calm before the storm – when my phone’s emergency alert system went off.

A neighbour I’d never met before ran out of his house in his socks saying: “I don’t know where to go. I don’t know what to do!”

I could hear other people shouting inside their homes. I didn’t feel it but my family down the street did. Usually you don’t feel a distant quake while you’re moving, but you can when sitting still.

For the record, when you do feel an earthquake or get an earthquake warning - you are supposed to stop and take cover.

Regan Morris
BBC News, Los Angeles

Hundreds of thousands of students in southern California will stay home from school on Monday – a rare “rain day” for California kids.

Students in San Bernardino, east of Los Angeles, are still expected to attend school but nearly every other district in southern California has cancelled classes.

That includes the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest district in the United States with nearly 600,000 students.

“This was not an easy decision,” it said in a statement.

But with the storm due to peak around midnight - in about an hour's time - there would be no chance to inspect schools before children were due to attend, LA schools boss Alberto Carvalho said on Sunday.

This is typically the season for wildfires in California but the state is completely drenched right now.

It is an abnomaly. Tropical storms are rare for the state because its dry air, cool water and wind conditions off the coast tend to suppress hurricanes.

The last time a tropical storm made landfall here was in 1939.

Watch BBC's North America correspondent Peter Bowes talk about the once-in-a-lifetime storm that has made landfall where he lives.

Image source, Reuters

At least 25,000 households across Los Angeles are out of power as the centre of the storm moves through the city.

Hilary has unleashed flash floods east and west of the Californian megacity. Los Angeles, one of the biggest cities in America, is home to nearly four million people.

Aerial footage on social media shows floods around Dodger Stadium, home to the city's baseball team., external

Image source, TWITTER

The storm is moving northwards but heavy rain and floods are expected to continue into Monday.

All public schools in Los Angeles will be closed on Monday. Pasadena Unified, a school district adjacent to the Los Angeles with about 15,000 students, has also cancelled classes and after-school programmes.

Authorities have also urged residents to avoid visiting the city's beaches - like the famous Venice Beach- for three days after the storm.

A declaration of local emergency remains - this allows authorities to immediately activate emergency operations and waive regulations that may hamper live-saving activities.

Parts of Death Valley - on the northern side of the Mojave desert - have already been flooded by intense rainfall from Hilary.

The Californian desert is typically known for being one of the hottest places on Earth during summer.

It could receive two years' worth of rainfall from this one weather event, meteorologists forecast.

The storm is expected to bring up to 10 inches (25cm) of rain across southern California and southern Nevada through to Monday, the National Hurricane Center said in its update about an hour ago.

That's a phenomenal quantity of rain for one day. 10 inches of rain is as much as these mountain and desert areas typically see in a whole year, forecasters say.

Some of the other rainfall forecasts and warnings:

• "A brief tornado or two" could also be possible throughout Sunday night across south-east California, north-west Arizona, southern Nevada and far south-west Utah, officials warned.
• Flooding can also be expected along the northern coast of the Gulf of California through to early Monday.
• Up to 3 inches of rain is also expected through Tuesday morning across parts of the north-western states of Oregon and Idaho.

Image source, Getty Images

The centre of the storm is currently moving through Los Angeles, packing winds of up to 45mph (75 km/h), says the National Hurricane Centre.

In the latest bulletin at 20:00 local time (03:00 GMT), officials maintained warnings of likely "catastrophic and life-threatening flooding" across parts of south-western US and the north of Mexico's Baja California state.

Currently, Hilary is travelling in a north-northwest direction across California.

It's expected to keep going through to early Monday. Winds could be particularly strong and gusty around higher terrain, officials warned.

Meanwhile, Mexico's government has discontinued its Tropical Storm Warning after the storm moved through already.

Image source, Reuters

Peter Bowes
North America correspondent

This is a storm of colossal magnitude.

In my more than 27 years living in the Los Angeles area rarely has there been more than a sprinkling of rain during the summer months.

This is the time of year when we worry about wildfires, not life-threatening floods.

The hillsides are tinder-dry and many are in a precarious state following past burns.

It means they are unable to absorb the vast quantities of rain we’re seeing right now.

The burned soil acts as a water-repellent.

The next few hours, as the storm passes over, will be a nerve-racking time for many people here.

Image source, Getty Images

Here's how California and other states across southern US are bracing for tropical storm Hilary:

• California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency late Saturday for much of Southern California. Flash flood warnings are in effect throughout the region, which is more accustomed to drought.
• Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have urged residents to stay indoors. “Do your best; be safe. If you don’t have an essential reason to be out there, don’t,” Newsom said at an emergency briefing on Sunday.
• A flash flood warning is in place for Los Angeles County until 3am local time.
• Various districts in California have cancelled classes and after-school activities on Monday.
• About 40-50% of flights that were scheduled to depart from or arrive at airports across California were cancelled, the New York Times reported.
• In Nevada, officials have issued flash flood warnings for parts of Death Valley National Park, with warnings to expect winds up to 40 miles per hour.
• Several concerts and sporting events across the region were also cancelled over the weekend.

The US National Hurricane Center is predicting that the storm will head further inland over the coming hours. Here's an outline of its likely trajectory.

Tropical storms have been once-in-a-lifetime events for Californians. The last one to hit was in September 1939, when flooding killed 45 people in southern California and another 48 at sea. In Los Angeles, 5.66in (144mm) of rain fell over a 24-hour period.

The city has also seen relentless rain ahead of Hilary. But Mayor Karen Bass told reporters that it was ready.

“Our message today is clear, stay safe, stay home, and stay informed," she said. "This is an unprecedented weather event, but Los Angeles has deep experience responding to crises whether it be wildfire or earthquakes."

Ms Bass added that officials would do their best to keep city services going throughout the storm.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said "fortunately there was not much damage" from tropical storm Hilary in his country. Authorities will continue to restore electricity and provide help for people affected by the storm, he added in a tweet.

The storm made landfall along northern Mexico's Baja California peninsula and is now moving into southern California.

Shortly before the tropical storm started battering California, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake at a depth of 4.8km (three miles) was reported by the US Geological Survey north-west of Los Angeles.

The tremor was felt in the city, a BBC correspondent says.

So far, there have been no reports of any damage.

The US Tsunami Warning System says there is no threat of a tidal wave from the quake.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

In its latest bulletin at 17:00 local time on Sunday (00:00 BST on Monday), the US National Hurricane Center says the centre of tropical storm Hilary has now moved into southern California.

The storm has winds up to 50mph (85km/h), the NHC says, warning that "catastrophic and life-threatening" flooding is likely in parts of the south-western US and Mexico's Baja California peninsula through Monday.

"Weakening is expected to continue, and Hilary is forecast to become a post-tropical cyclone overnight," the NHC adds.

Here's what's been going on - and what we're expecting next.

• A major tropical storm is bringing high winds and heavy rains to Mexico's Pacific coast
• Storm Hilary - which has been downgraded from a hurricane - made landfall on Sunday in the northern part of Mexico's Baja California peninsula
• One man died when a family of five was swept away into the sea, Mexican officials say. Houses were submerged in the town of Santa Rosalia
• Mexican troops have been helping evacuate people from the worst-affected areas
• Across the border in southern California, residents are preparing for Hilary's arrival - and there are already reports of flooding
• It will be the first tropical storm in decades to hit California

The US state of California is bracing itself for tropical storm Hilary - which is expected to arrive within hours.

It would be the state's first tropical storm in 84 years.

And it's already been described as an "unprecedented weather event" by the Los Angeles mayor.

We're following the latest developments and we'll keep you posted.