Hurricane Hilary Expected to Strengthen, Have Heavy Impacts on California
Hurricane Hilary “underwent rapid intensification,” according to the latest weather reports, and it was only expected to get worse Friday.
According to a Fox Weather report that is tracking the (currently) Category 4 hurricane, Hilary went from a tropical storm to its current classification within a matter of 48 hours.
The report also noted that later Friday, Hilary was expected to be classified as a Category 5 hurricane.
According to the National Hurricane Center, a Category 5 hurricane brings with it potentially “catastrophic damage” including leaving areas uninhabitable for months.
Some bad news: Hurricane Hilary is expected to make landfall within the continental United States.
The good news: Fox reports that Hilary is not expected to hit the U.S. at hurricane-level strength.
More bad news: While there apparently won’t be a hurricane hitting the Baja California Peninsula and parts of the southwestern United States, there are still significant concerns about flooding and high winds afflicting those regions.
According to the Fox report, the “center of Hilary will move close to the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula over the weekend and reach Southern California by Sunday night.”
On Friday morning, the National Weather Service’s San Diego branch announced a historic storm watch warning on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
A Tropical Storm Watch has now been issued for much of Southern California. This is the first Tropical Strom Watch issued by the National Hurricane Center for Southern California. Please see the latest advisory for more information: https://t.co/g1SCAh22Of #CAwx https://t.co/TZnTL9pwPW
— NWS San Diego (@NWSSanDiego) August 18, 2023
“A Tropical Storm Watch has now been issued for much of Southern California,” the post read. “This is the first Tropical [Storm] Watch issued by the National Hurricane Center for Southern California.”
The post also quoted an earlier post that issued a stark warning about some of the havoc that Hilary could bring with it.
With both “hurricane conditions” and “tropical storm conditions” expected, the NWS warned about the potential for flash flooding and landslides in parts of the country that will be affected by Hilary.
NWS San Diego had announced less than a day earlier that Hilary was upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane, highlighting how quickly it can intensify:
Hilary has been upgraded to a Category 3 (Major) hurricane as of 5 PM PDT. Hilary is expected to strengthen further tomorrow, before weakening on approach to Southern California. Expect very heavy rain and tropical storm-force winds in SoCal Sat-Mon.#CAwx pic.twitter.com/hat2gf2YhS
— NWS San Diego (@NWSSanDiego) August 18, 2023
“The center of Hurricane Hilary is moving toward the northwest at 10 mph,” the Fox report notes. “A turn toward the northwest and north-northwest is expected Friday, followed by a faster motion toward the north Saturday night and Sunday.”
Hurricane Hilary is expected to weaken to a tropical storm by the time it makes landfall.
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