Hurricane Hilary barreled towards Mexico’s Baja California peninsula early on Sunday, the US National Weather Service said, as the hurricane, which was downgraded to Category 1, was still likely to bring “catastrophic and life-threatening” flooding to the region.
Meteorologists warned that despite weakening, the storm with a speed of 85mph (137kmph) – down from 90mph (145kmph) – remained treacherous as it headed towards the southwestern US as a tropical storm.
Forecasters said the storm was still expected to enter the history books as the first tropical storm to hit southern California in 84 years, bringing flash floods, mudslides, isolated tornadoes, strong winds and power outages.
Authorities have issued an evacuation advisory for Santa Catalina Island in the US, urging residents and beachgoers to leave the tourist destination 37km (23 miles) off the coast.
Hilary brought heavy rain and flooding to Mexico and the southwestern US on Saturday, before its expected Sunday border crossing.
Forecasters warned it could dump up to 250mm (10 inches) of rain – a year’s worth of rainfall for some areas – in southern California and southern Nevada.
“This does not lessen the threat, especially the flood threat,” Jamie Rhome, the US National Hurricane Center’s deputy director, said during a Saturday briefing to announce the storm’s downgraded status.
The hurricane is the latest climate disaster to wreak havoc across the US, Canada and Mexico.
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