As most Californians know all too well, the rain that drenched the state this week was extreme and often record-breaking. As Tropical Storm Hilary passed through California, more rain fell in San Diego and Los Angeles on Sunday than on any other August day on record. The same was true in the desert city of Palm Springs, which received about 70 percent of its annual average precipitation in a 24-hour period, according to Mark Moede, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s San Diego office. “You look at those numbers, and you have to look at it twice to say, ‘Is this really real?’” Moede told me. Hilary arrived during what is usually California’s driest time of year, and the peak of the state’s fire season. Seven of the 20 largest wildfires in California history started in August.

Related articles: 

• Vox: Why even Hurricane Hilary couldn’t solve California’s long-term drought crisis
• Newsweek: How California reservoir water levels changed after Hilary
• Voice of San Diego: Why Hilary didn’t blow San Diego away
• Desert Sun: Rep. Ruiz, other inland representatives call for federal aid after Tropical Storm Hilary
• Desert Sun: Hilary causes train derailments, delays in Coachella Valley