There are flood watches in Nevada and Arizona, too…
The National Hurricane Center has issued its first-ever tropical storm watch for California as Hurricane Hilary churns off Mexico's Pacific coast. The category four storm is forecasted to weaken significantly as it enters more temperate waters. Computer models predict landfall Sunday night near Tijuana with torrential rains and sustained winds at or near hurricane force. As of Friday afternoon, the tropical storm watch extends from Baja, California, through San Diego and most of Orange County.
While hurricanes can form in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Central Pacific Basin is less conducive to frequent hurricane formation than the waters of the Caribbean or around the Cape Verde islands off Africa. The tendency for cooler ocean waters and high-pressure conditions caused by the prevailing atmospheric circulation in the Central and Eastern Pacific make for less favorable conditions for tropical storms.
Hilary could bring a year's worth of rain to California, Nevada and Arizona in a matter of hours. Millions of Californians face a Level 4 of 4 threat of flooding, especially flash floods.
CNN has more on the storm's current state:
Hilary was a powerful Category 4 hurricane churning about 400 miles south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Friday morning with sustained winds of 145 mph with stronger gusts, the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm underwent incredible rapid intensification Thursday into Friday, strengthening from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane in just 24 hours. Hilary is forecast to remain a Category 4 as it approaches Mexico's Baja California peninsula through Saturday.
There is some potential for Hilary to become the first Category 5 hurricane this season briefly before it enters colder water and loses some strength.
Complex computer models are limited by their forecasts thanks to the Earth's ever-changing atmospheric and oceanic conditions influencing hurricane behavior. Sixty hours from landfall, considerable uncertainty surrounds the location and intensity of Hilary's impact on the Southwestern United States.
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Due this weekend & next week
Growing up in San Bernadino Co Riverside had fires every year. Before Christmas, the rains would pour off of MT Baldy. This isn`t anything new.