MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Category 4 Hurricane Hilary lashed into Mexico’s Baja California peninsula on Friday morning, threatening to cause “significant flooding” in parts of the region and in the southwestern United States, a US government agency said.
Hilary was moving west to northwest at nearly 12 mph, with maximum sustained winds of nearly 140 mph, after being upgraded to Category 4 overnight, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory .
Hilary will still be a hurricane as it approaches Baja California’s west coast this weekend, but is expected to weaken to a tropical storm before reaching southern California Sunday afternoon, it added.
A storm surge could cause coastal flooding and destructive waves along Mexico’s western Baja California peninsula, the agency added.
Rainfall of 3 to 6 inches (7.6 to 15 cm) is expected in parts of Southern California and Southern Nevada, which “would lead to significant and infrequent impacts.”
(Reporting by Valentine Hilaire; editing by Isabel Woodford and Jonathan Oatis)
