I have been asked by some people regarding my assessment of this hurricane, given that I live in the to-be-affected area.
I was waiting for bottomset to comment, but since we aren't seeing his analysis, I will take the reins.
This is indeed an unusual eastern Pacific hurricane, as it's going to be pushed much farther north than typically seen. However, LA is basically hurricane-proof, due to the year-round cold Pacific ocean surrounding it. The cool ocean temperature which makes LA beaches shitty also protects it from hurricanes.
Hurricanes can't survive over cold water. It kills them very rapidly. There has been one hurricane in California since they were being tracked in the 1800s. Nobody can tell you about it, because it occurred in 1858. It mostly hit San Diego, but might have gotten as far as Long Beach (southern LA County). Since it was 1858, there was no footage of the hurricane -- only written descriptions. The description definitely makes it seem as if a real hurricane hit San Diego, but it may have weakened to a tropical storm by the time it got to Orange County and Long Beach.
In the 165 years since, there have definitely been no hurricanes in southern California. Last year, Hurricane Kay was thought to possibly hit California, but not only had it degraded to a TS by the time it got into US waters, but it also never made landfall. Instead, California got associated storms, most notably which flooded Death Valley and damaged some cars and roads there.
In fact, aside from the 1858 hurricane/TS, California has had only one tropical storm and one tropical depression make landfall. The TS was in 1939, which caused a lot of flooding and killed 45 people. Note that street and landscaping drainage was not as good then as it is today.
The TD was in 1978, and was best known for destroying the state's raisin crop due to the sudden heavy rains. There were four tragic and bizarre deaths in a September blizzard on Mt. Whitney (the highest mountain in the continental US), where four hikers died due to not being prepared for such a fluke event.
So what do I think will happen regarding Hillary?
I think it will hit San Diego as a TS, and the Los Angeles area as a TD. So we will probably have California fourth TD-or-higher in recorded history, but it's probably not going to be a big deal, except in San Diego and some inland areas where very heavy rain is expected.
Keep in mind that LA gets plenty of winter rainstorms which come with high wind. In the area I live now, winter storms with a few inches of rain and winds from 50-70mph are not uncommon. This past winter, one of them blocked a major road here for a bit due to ripping a portion of a tree off, which fell in the road. (Nobody was hit.)
I told fellow LA-area residents, "Picture this as a big winter storm except warmer. That's all this is going to be."
Maybe I'll be proven wrong, but I don't think so.
Incidentally, the really unusual thing here is the fact that a storm producing substantial rain is appearing in LA/SD at all. These southern California coastal areas usually get zero point zero inches of rain in July and August, and if any rain does fall, it's small amounts from remnants of distant hurricanes. This will be the first time in my life that I will see a storm with 1+ inches of rain in Los Angeles in August.