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'I've never seen anything like that': Northeast Ohio native describes devastation of Tropical Storm Hilary in Southern California

Ron Salandro is originally from Boardman, but currently lives in Rancho Mirage.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Tropical Storm Hilary hit the deserts of Southern California and Mexico hard over the weekend, bringing flash flooding and record rainfall.

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"Getting a hurricane in the desert is strange," said Ron Salandro.

Salandro is from Boardman, but has lived in the Palm Springs area for years.

"The storm I saw last night and yesterday, it was unbelievable. I've been out here 33 years, I've never seen anything like that," Salandro said.

He lives in an assisted living facility and said staff couldn't make it to work and the property was flooded, impacting the kitchen and residents' rooms.

"They had to feed us our breakfast and our lunch in our rooms because some of the rooms here got flooded," Salandro added.

Hilary was the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in over 80 years.

On Monday morning, Salandro said he and his fellow residents woke up to beautiful blue skies.

"It was better today. Today was like nothing ever happened," Salandro said.

The 3News weather team says August is typically the driest month in Southern California. Some areas saw six to eight months worth of rainfall in just one day.

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