Hurricane Hilary is set to move over the southwestern United States and western Mexico this weekend and early next week, putting California under its first ever tropical storm watch.
The Category 4 storm could bring more than a year's worth of rain to parts of California, Nevada, and Arizona.
Hilary was a powerful Category 4 hurricane located 525km southwest of Cabo San Lucas in Mexico as of this morning, according to the National Hurricane Centre. Maximum winds neared 215km/h with higher gusts.
760-1500mm of rainfall is expected across southern California, southern Nevada, and the Baja California peninsula.
Meteorologists said that Hilary may cause "life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flooding".
US President Joe Biden said the Federal Emergency Management Agency had pre-positioned staff and supplies in the region.
"I urge everyone, everyone in the path of this storm, to take precautions and listen to the guidance of state and local officials," Biden said.
The storm rapidly intensified on Thursday and Friday, taking just 24 hours to strengthen from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane.
While it's expected to weaken, Hilary will still be a hurricane when it approaches the coast of the Baja California peninsula.
It is expected to weaken to a tropical storm before it reaches Southern California.
If Hilary makes landfall in California as a tropical storm, it would be the first to make landfall in California for 84 years.
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