Hilary makes landfall over Baja California peninsula, set to pummel US Southwest
By Drazen Jorgic
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Tropical storm Hilary made landfall over the Baja California peninsula on Sunday, pelting the region with intense rain and heading toward the U.S. Southwest, where forecasters warned of life-threatening and «catastrophic» flooding.
One person died in Mexico amid reports of flash flooding in the peninsula, where some roads were swept away and images on social media showed raging torrents gushing down city streets that have been turned into rivers.
In the United States, the storm has already wreaked havoc on flights and sporting events before it even arrived, while officials warned residents to remain indoors and keep emergency supplies handy.
Though Hilary had been weakening over the last 48 hours as it neared land, it is still set to be the wettest storm ever to hit the U.S. Southwest, according to Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service (NWS).
«This is a dangerous storm,» said Taylor, who works for NWS's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. «It's not just the rain totals but the intensity.»
Hilary is set to dump vast amounts of water on many parts of the U.S. Southwest that are more accustomed to dry conditions.
Areas such as Palm Springs, California, which typically gets around 4.6 inches of rain in an entire year, could receive 6-10 inches from this one storm. California's Death Valley area, which receives only about 2.2 inches of rain per year, could receive 3-4 inches from this event.
Hilary made landfall on Sunday morning over the northern parts of the Baja California peninsula, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory.
The storm was carrying top sustained winds of 60 mph (96 kph) and its center was forecast to
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