Tropical Storm Hillary in the Pacific Ocean strengthened to hurricane level today and is expected to enter western Mexico (the Baja California Peninsula) and the southwestern United States this weekend.
The storm formed on Wednesday and is already being felt with heavy rains and disruptions in Mexico, although it is still over the ocean.
Extreme weather around the world in 2023 / Photo: Reuters
Over the next few days, it is expected to strengthen significantly as it passes over the ocean, likely reaching Level 4, one level ahead of the strongest level measured by hurricanes, with winds of at least 209 km/h. However, it is likely to be lowered to level 2 before hitting land: first in Mexico and then in southern California, including the Los Angeles area, early Sunday morning local time.
Despite its expected weakening, it is expected to bring huge amounts of rain and probably flooding, partly because ground conditions are not used to such storms. In fact, the last time a tropical storm or hurricane directly hit the American Southwest was during World War II, in 1939.
"Hillary's rainfall could be on the order of magnitude equivalent to a few whole years," Daniel Swain, a climate expert at the University of California, told CNN. He said the storm would hit places that are considered particularly arid in normal times.
Also, because any change in its course can significantly affect the volume and impact of rainfall. The San Diego Weather Service, which is on the Mexican border, said there was "still a level of uncertainty about the timing, location and intensity of its impact in the coming days."
In any case, the plague of fires that is afflicting the world has not spared Canada either: following the out-of-control of the flames near the city of Yellowknife – the capital of the administrative territory of the Northwest Territories – all 20,46 residents were asked to evacuate quickly on Thursday. Huge convoys have been spotted in the area, considered one of the most isolated in Canada: the entire Northwest Territories has <>,<> inhabitants, and the capital itself with only one two-lane road connecting it to the rest of the region.
Residents must leave the capital by 3 p.m. local time tomorrow (Friday). The fire is currently about 16 kilometers from the city.
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a meeting of the Crisis Response Group, made up of experts in his government, to discuss ways to deal with the fires, while planes continued to try to extinguish the fire.
It's Canada's worst fire season since measurements began, with at least 1,000 fires still burning across the country — including over 200 in the Northwest Territories.
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