Major hurricane heads towards Mexico's Baja California

Mexico City – Tropical Storm Hilary strengthened into a major hurricane in the Pacific on Thursday and was expected to further intensify before approaching Mexico’s Baja California peninsula over the weekend, the forecasters said.

Heavy rainfall was also expected in the south-western United States from Friday as the storm moves north, the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said.

Hurricane Hilary was packing maximum sustained winds of about 195kmh, according to the NHC.

That made it a major Category Three hurricane – the third most powerful on the Saffir-Simpson scale of one to five.

Hurricane Hilary was located about 716km south of the tourist resort of Cabo San Lucas on the southern tip of Baja California, the NHC said.

“Additional rapid strengthening is forecast during the next day or so, and Hilary is likely to become a category four hurricane tomorrow (Friday),” it predicted.

“Flash flooding, locally significant, will be possible,” it added.

The storm brought rain and rough seas to areas along Mexico’s south-western Pacific coast, including the tourist resort of Acapulco.

In the US, parts of southern California and southern Nevada could see heavy rain through early next week, the NHC said.

Hurricanes hit Mexico every year on both its Pacific and Atlantic coasts, usually between May and November. AFP