Hurricane weakens but still threatens Mexico, California

Hurricane Hilary continued on a steady path toward Mexico’s Baja California peninsula yesterday as a powerful hurricane that officials warned could bring "potentially catastrophic” flooding there and to parts of the US Southwest.The storm weakened yesterday from a powerful Category 4 to Category 3 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale – still deemed capable of "devastating damage” – with hurricane conditions expected to continue along the Baja California coast this morning, the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said.Mexican authorities predicted intense rainfall and electrical storms with a risk of flooding along the Pacific Coast and warned residents to take necessary precautions.By late morning, maximum sustained winds of 125mph (205kph) were being reported, with higher gusts, the NHC said."The centre of Hilary will move close to the west-central coast of the Baja California peninsula ... then move across southern California this afternoon,” the NHC said.The storm is expected to weaken to a tropical storm before reaching southern California and southern Nevada, with heavy rainfalls and flooding still possible.Residents and workers in the Mexican tourist resort of Cabo San Lucas have put up protective boarding and laid thousands of sandbags as large waves began crashing ashore.Military personnel were seen patrolling the beach in the city, a popular destination for both Mexican and foreign tourists."We took all the precautionary measures last night,” Omar Olvera told AFP yesterday at the Cabo San Lucas beachfront restaurant where he works.With sandbags piled protectively around the restaurant, he said, "we’re just looking out for the workers and waiting for the weather to come”.The federal electric utility has deployed 800 workers and hundreds of vehicles to deal with eventual electric outages, it said.In the United States, "rainfall amounts of 3-6”, with isolated amounts of 10”, are expected across portions of southern California and southern Nevada,” the NHC said, adding: "Dangerous to locally catastrophic flooding will be possible.”Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer have rescheduled games planned for today in the US region.Hurricanes hit Mexico every year on both its Pacific and Atlantic coasts.Although their remnants sometimes affect California, it is rare for cyclones to strike the state with tropical storm intensity.