Hurricane Hilary is making its way towards Mexico’s Pacific coast, with meteorologists warning of the potential for severe flooding despite its weakened state. Classified as a Category 1 storm by the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hilary carries wind speeds of up to 100mph (175km/h) and is expected to hit land later on Saturday. The storm has already triggered heavy rainfall in parts of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and the southwestern United States. Though Hilary is predicted to weaken into a tropical storm as it reaches southern California, the prospect of a tropical storm hitting the state for the first time in over 80 years raises concern.
As of the latest update, the NHC places Hilary approximately 285 miles (459km) southeast of Punta Eugenia, Baja California’s westernmost point. The NHC’s John Cangialosi notes the storm’s swift weakening, observing a dwindling eye and warming cloud tops. Formerly a potent Category 3 storm with winds of up to 130mph, Hilary’s trajectory has shifted.
Major League Baseball games in southern California have been rescheduled, and SpaceX has delayed a rocket launch. To prevent potential visitor stranding due to flooding, Joshua Tree National Park and Mojave National Preserve in California have been temporarily closed.
Projections indicate that certain regions of southern California and southern Nevada could experience up to 10 inches (25cm) of rainfall, resulting in “dangerous to catastrophic flooding.” The National Weather Service (NWS) in San Diego has issued flash flooding warnings, affecting around 26 million individuals in the southwestern US. In preparation for the storm, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has positioned resources.
Local authorities, including those in Arizona, are distributing sandbags to residents to mitigate potential flood damage. Amid a backdrop of abnormal global weather events, experts underscore human-caused climate change’s role. Following July 2023, the hottest month on record according to NASA, a devastating wildfire ravaged Hawaii on August 8, claiming a minimum of 111 lives. Hurricane winds exacerbated the destruction, highlighting the interconnectedness of extreme weather events.