Storm Hilary strengthened into a hurricane in the Pacific on Thursday and was expected to further intensify before hitting Mexico’s Baja California peninsula over the weekend, forecasters said.
Heavy rainfall was also expected in the southwestern US from today as the storm moves north, the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said.
Around 1500 GMT, Hilary was packing maximum sustained winds of about 85mph (140kph), according to the NHC.
The category one storm was located about 530 miles southeast of the tourist resort of Cabo San Lucas on the southern tip of Baja California, it said.
It was moving west-northwest at 13mph (21kph) on Thursday morning and its centre was forecast to approach the Baja California peninsula over the weekend.
Storm Hilary is expected to produce 3-6” (7.6-15cm) of rain across parts of the Baja California peninsula through Monday morning.
“Rapid strengthening is forecast during the next day or so, and Hilary could become a major hurricane,” the NHC predicted. “Flash flooding, locally significant, will be possible.”
The storm brought rain and rough seas to areas along Mexico’s southwestern Pacific coast, including the tourist resort of Acapulco.
In the US, parts of southern California and southern Nevada could see heavy rain through early next week, the NHC said.
Tropical cyclones hit Mexico every year on both its Pacific and Atlantic coasts, usually between May and November.
A man moors his boat in Acapulco, Mexico, following the passage of Tropical Storm Hilary.
