The United States National Hurricane Centre has issued its first-ever tropical storm watch for southern California as Hurricane Hilary, a category 4 storm, barrels towards the state.
The hurricane, described as large and powerful, may cause “life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flooding”, meteorologists said.
A watch means that tropical conditions are possible within the area over the next 48 hours. It is in place for the south west of the state, from the California-Mexico border to the Orange County and Los Angeles County line and for Catalina Island, forecasters said.
The system had sustained winds near 209km/h, according to the National Hurricane Center.
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Hilary formed as a tropical storm off the coast of Manzanillo, Mexico, on Wednesday and began moving west-northwest toward the Baja California peninsula as it strengthened.
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Although the storm’s intensity was expected to fluctuate, it is expected to weaken but remain a hurricane.
It will probably then become a tropical storm before reaching Southern California by Sunday night.
Hilary’s exact landfall probably will not make much of a difference when it comes to the expected hazards in the region, meteorologists said.
The hurricane will bring up to 6 inches of rain, with isolated amounts up to 10 inches, across portions of the Baja California peninsula through Sunday night, with the possibility of flash flooding.
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Portions of Southern California and southern Nevada will record similar rainfall totals through Tuesday morning, which could lead to “dangerous and locally catastrophic flooding,” forecasters said.
A flood watch was issued for Los Angeles and Ventura counties, including Catalina Island. Other areas across the west can expect a few inches of rain.
Forecasters said strong winds would occur ahead of the storm’s center.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.