Hurricane Kay loses strength as it moves along Mexico’s Pacific coast but could weaken into a tropical storm that causes severe rain and flooding in Southern California and southwestern Arizona

• Hurricane Kay started to lose some of its strength as it move along Mexico’s Pacific coast on Thursday
• The Category 1 hurricane is producing heavy rains and winds that have topped 87 miles per hour since Thursday morning
• The storm killed two adults after their vehicle was washed away after they attempted to drive across a creek in the southwestern state of Guerrero
• A child, whose age is unknown, was reported dead after a fence collapsed on top of him at his family home in Guerrero
• Hurricane Kay is expected to make landfall in certain parts of the state of Baja California
• Weather experts say the hurricane could downgrade into a tropical storm and produce heavy rains, strong winds and floods in Southern California 
• The southwestern parts of Arizona are also under a storm watch  

Hurricane Kay lost strength as it moved along Mexico’s Pacific coast on Thursday, leaving behind abundant rain and strong winds, the U.S. National Hurricane Center reported.

The storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 87 miles per hour in the early hours of Thursday, slipping to Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

Hurricane Kay killed three people, including a child, in the southwestern state of Guerrero over the weekend and damaged several houses.

Two of the victims were in a car that was swept by flooding waters after the driver tried to cross over a creek. A child was found dead inside a home after he was struck by a collapsing fence.

Strong waves slammed the shore of Los Cabos, Mexico on Wednesday, a day before Hurricane Kay moved up the country’s Pacific Coast and lost strength despite packing maximum sustained winds of 87 miles per hour

A bicyclist rides rides along a Mexico City street on Thursday as the Mexican capital was impacted by heavy rains as a result of Hurricane Kay, which slammed the Pacific coast region 

The National hurricane Center expects Kay will produce heavy rains and flash flooding along the Baja California peninsula and parts of northwestern Mexico through Saturday morning. The hurricane is expected to turn into a tropical storm which could impact Southern California and southwestern Arizona with rains and floods

It had also prompted Mexican airlines VivaAerobus, Volaris and Aeromexico to cancel domestic flights to popular tourist destination Los Cabos.

A hurricane warning was issued for a sparsely populated stretch of the peninsula around Bahia Asuncion and the state government of Baja California Sur announced it was opening shelters for people who need to evacuate. It said some creeks were already rising and closed some roads. 

Heavy rain fell on Los Cabos at the southern tip of the peninsula. Mayor Oscar Leggs Castro said there were already more than 800 people in shelters in the twin resort destinations.

Long lines of cars waited to fill up at gas stations. Nonessential businesses were closed and some airlines cancelled flights.

Landslides reportedly cut some roadways on the peninsula, but there were no reports of injuries.

Clouds associated with Hurricane Kay are seen over the skyline in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday. The Southern California region has not been impacted by a massive storm since Hurricane Nora was downgraded to a tropical storm in 1997. Heavy rains left Los Angeles without electricity and flooded San Diego

A man walk on a beach in Cabo San Lucas on Tuesday before the arrival of Hurricane Kay

Strong waves and heavy rains left some damage in El Paraiso, a seaside town in the Mexican state of Colima

Even as the hurricane weakens over the coming days, the Miami-based hurricane center said Kay should cause heavy rains and flash flooding along the Baja California peninsula and parts of northwestern Mexico through Saturday morning.

The National Hurricane Center in the Eastern Pacific expects the storm could produce gusty winds,  flash floods and dangerous ocean conditions to part of Southern California that have been dealing with a heat wave and southwestern Arizona on Friday night and Saturday.

Forecasters estimate that the outer bands of the big storm could bring heavy rain – and possibly flash floods – to parts of scorched Southern California and southwestern Arizona on Friday night and Saturday.

Southern California has not been impacted by a massive storm since Hurricane Nora was downgraded to a tropical storm in 1997. Heavy rains knocked out electricity in Los Angeles and flooded San Diego.

Source: Read Full Article