Hurricane Hilary roared toward Mexico's Baja California peninsula late on Saturday as a downgraded but still dangerous Category 2 hurricane that's likely to bring "catastrophic and life-threatening" flooding to the region and cross into the southwestern U.S. as a tropical storm.

The storm weakened on Saturday from a powerful Category 4 to Category 2 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale – but it was still deemed capable of "extensive damage," and hurricane conditions were expected to continue along the Baja California coast through Sunday morning, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

By Saturday afternoon, Hilary was packing maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour, with higher gusts, the NHC said. 

"Heavy rains" were affecting portions of Baja California and the southwestern United States, with "catastrophic and life-threatening flooding likely." 

"The center of Hilary will move close to the west-central coast of the Baja California Peninsula tonight and Sunday morning then move across southern California Sunday afternoon and Sunday night," the hurricane center said.

The storm is expected to weaken to a tropical storm before reaching southern California and southern Nevada, with heavy rainfall and flooding still possible. 

"This does not lessen the threat, especially the flood threat," said Jamie Rhome, the U.S. National Hurricane Center's deputy director, during a Saturday briefing to announce the storm's downgraded status. "Don't let the weakening trend and the intensity lower your guard."

Residents and workers in the Mexican tourist resort of Cabo San Lucas put up protective boarding and laid thousands of sandbags as large waves began crashing ashore.

Military personnel were seen patrolling the beach in the city, a popular destination for both Mexican and foreign tourists.

"We took all the precautionary measures last night," Omar Olvera told AFP on Saturday at the Cabo San Lucas beachfront restaurant where he works. 

With sandbags piled protectively around the restaurant, he said, "We're just looking out for the workers and waiting for the weather to come."

Streets in the town of Todos Santos, on the west coast of the peninsula, were largely deserted Saturday while the beach in nearby Cerritos was closed due to rough waves.

"Last night we felt the wind picking up, it wasn't as strong as we were expecting but it still caused us to worry," said Marco Segura, a 57-year-old worker in Cerritos.

The Mexican government deployed almost 19,000 soldiers in the states most affected by the storm, while the federal electric utility has sent 800 workers and hundreds of vehicles to deal with eventual outages.

In the U.S., "rainfall amounts of 7 to 15 centimeters, with isolated amounts of 25 centimeters, are expected across portions of southern California and southern Nevada," the NHC said. 

"Dangerous to catastrophic flooding is expected."

Nancy Ward, director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, said Hilary could be one of the worst storms to hit the state in more than a decade.

"Make no mistake," she was quoted as saying by U.S. media. "This is a very, very dangerous and significant storm."

The White House said President Joe Biden had been briefed on the latest preparedness plans ahead of the hurricane's turn to the U.S. "I urge everyone, everyone in the path of this storm, to take precautions and listen to the guidance of state and local officials," he said.

Hilary on Friday had rapidly grown into an exceedingly dangerous Category 4 major hurricane for a time with top sustained winds of 230 kilometers per hour at its peak. Its maximum sustained winds initially dropped to 185 kilometers per hour earlier on Saturday as a Category 3 storm, before further weakening to 177 kilometers per hour – making it a Category 2.

(With input from AP and AFP)

(Cover: General view of the Medano beach before the arrival of Hurricane Hilary at Los Cabos resort in Baja California state, Mexico, August 18, 2023. /CFP)

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