According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm deteriorated from a Category 3 hurricane to a Category 2 storm as it approached California.
From category 3 to category 2 of hurricane
Regions of the Southwest are projected to receive almost a year’s worth of rain from Hurricane Hilary. According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm deteriorated from a Category 3 hurricane to a Category 2 storm as it moved closer to California. 110 mph sustained winds are assisting with its movement.
The speed of Hilary is faster than anticipated at 17 mph. As it approaches Southern California from the north-northwest, it is thought that the storm might diminish.
According to a Mexican official who also released pictures of flooded and washed-away highways in the region, one man was killed when a family of five was swept into the water while crossing a stream in the Baja California Sur state.
The hurricane in the United States was interfering with sporting events and flights.
Flood warning registered
On Saturday evening, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that the hurricane was weakening as it approached the peninsula’s west-central coast. It was expected that as it approached southern California on Sunday, it would weaken more and weaken into a tropical storm.
However, the NHC stated that hazardous rains continue to be a serious concern, with up to 10 inches (25 cm) of rainfall anticipated in some sections of Baja California as well as California.
In its most recent alert, the Miami-based agency warned that “flash and flooding in cities, locally life-threatening, will be probable, particularly in the northern sections of the peninsula.”
The NHC further stated that rainfall of 3 to 6 inches, with exceptional amounts of 10 inches, was anticipated across parts of southern California and southern Nevada.
“Dangerous to catastrophic flooding is expected,” the NHC stated.
According to the White House, U.S. President Joe Biden was briefed by top staff on hurricane preparations and his team’s collaboration with state and local agencies in advance of the storm.
School suspended, firefighters appointed
In the Baja California peninsula, certain non-essential activities like school were postponed until Monday. In Tijuana, the second-largest city in Mexico, authorities recommended residents in high-risk areas to seek temporary shelter.
On the eastern part of the Baja California peninsula, the seaside town of Santa Rosalia saw flash floods as seen in photos posted on social media. Water gushed down what had been a road and swept away a tree.
Mexico’s Navy and neighbourhood firefighters were rescuing individuals in the town of Mulege, about 30 miles (48 km) south of where one person perished while attempting to cross a stream, according to Municipal President Edith Aguilar Villavicencio, who posted on her Facebook page.
According to the NHC, Hilary was travelling roughly 17 miles per hour (27 kilometres per hour) in a north-northwesterly direction with highest sustained winds over 100 mph (161 kph).
Citizens and businesses in the United States have been advised to exercise caution.
Flights cancelled
According to the FlightAware website, 184 of the nearly 200 flights at the San Diego International Airport scheduled for Sunday have already been cancelled.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels of Major League Baseball moved their Sunday games up to Saturday to create split doubleheaders in California.
Due to the possibility of significant rain and floods, the Sunday games of Los Angeles FC and LA Galaxy were both postponed.
