The hurricane, which was expected to make landfall in the southwest, has weakened as it approaches California, but it is expected to bring heavy rain and wind, so there are still concerns about great damage.
According to the National Hurricane Centre of the National Weather Service (NWS) on the 20th, Hurricane Hilary, which made landfall in Baja California, northern Mexico, as of 8:00 am (Western Time) on the same day, reduced its maximum wind speed to 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) and became tropical.
On the 18th, it was observed as a Category 4 hurricane with peak wind speeds of 145 miles per hour (233 km/h), but its strength weakened significantly as it moved north along western Mexico. The Mexican government has downgraded its hurricane warning to a tropical storm warning. Hillary is currently moving rapidly northwest and is expected to pass across southern California.
The Bureau of Meteorology warned that Hillary could cause localized flash flooding accompanied by heavy rain.
By the morning of the 21st, heavy rain fell throughout the southwestern United States, and precipitation in parts of Southern California and Nevada was predicted to reach 3 to 6 inches (7 to 15 cm). In addition, the Korea Meteorological Administration urged people to refrain from surfing or playing in the water as high waves and rip currents may occur in the waters near Southern California.
According to the Associated Press, one person was swept away and drowned the day before when the river overflowed the town of Santa Rosalia on the eastern coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. It’s already raining in San Diego and LA.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office, east of Los Angeles, issued an evacuation order for residents of Oak Glen and Forest Falls the previous evening due to the risk of heavy rain. According to the National Hurricane Centre, it has been 26 years since Nora in 1997 that a tropical storm has made landfall in California.