Photo: ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP/Getty Images
Hurricane Hilary has been downgraded twice on Saturday, rapidly weakening from Category 4 to Category 2 by early afternoon. Even so, the storm is expected to reach southern California sooner than expected, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The category change occurred as winds decreased from 130 mph to 125 mph, changing the damage that could be inflicted from catastrophic to devastating, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The hurricane will continue to weaken as it moves north, hence the downgrade to Category 2 around 3pm on Saturday.
It is then forecast to drop back to Category 1 around 5am on Sunday. before it becomes a tropical storm over much of southern California on Sunday.
Widespread “moderate to heavy” rain is expected through early Monday in Southern California, with a high risk of flash flooding which could include “landslides, landslides, and debris flows” in mountains and deserts, according to the National Weather Service in San Diego.
The system has triggered the first tropical storm watch warning for southern California.
Saturday morning, The National Weather Service (NWS) updated the Flood Watch start time for Los Angeles County to 10 a.m. Sunday, as the storm is moving faster than expected in previous forecasts.
On the forecast track, the center of Hilary will move near the west-central coast of the Baja California peninsula tonight and Sunday morning and it will then move to Southern California on Sunday afternoon.
Maximum sustained winds are around 175 km/h (110 mph) with stronger gusts. Continued weakening is expected, but Hilary will still be a hurricane as it approaches the west coast of the Baja California peninsula.
Hilary is expected to weaken to a tropical storm before reaching southern California.
tropical storm warning, which was updated Friday night of what was also the first tropical storm watch for the region, andIt is in effect for most of Southern California, including large swaths of San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties, along with California. Catalina Island, according to the National Weather Service.
The NHC said that heavy rains were already affecting parts of Baja California and the southwestern US on Saturday. The service warned that “catastrophic and life-threatening flooding” was likely for both regions.
The San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels had home games scheduled for Sunday. However, those games were moved to two Saturday heads in anticipation of the storm, Major League Baseball announced Friday.
The US Navy announced Friday night that would remove ships from San Diego Bay to prevent storm damage.
Hilary is forecast to move near the west-central coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula Saturday night through Sunday morning, and then will move through southern California from Sunday afternoon to Sunday nightsaid the NHC.
A tropical storm is defined as winds of at least 39 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
Keep reading:
– The Mexican Pacific maintains the alert although Hurricane Hilary weakened to Category 2
– California faces its first major tropical storm in 84 years with Hilary
– Mexico warns about the impact of Hurricane Hilary on the Baja California peninsula