Footage posted to social media shows rapid lightning strikes hitting as Tropical Storm Hilary approaches California. The clip posted to Twitter/X shows the sky lighting up in the early hours of 19 August as a thunderstorm hit San Diego. Southern California faced its its first tropical storm in 84 years, with the threat of flooding, blackouts, high winds and tornadoes. Millions of Americans were under flood and high-wind warnings as the storm moved north, unleashing heavy rains from the California-Mexico border to Las Vegas and beyond.