Tropical Cyclone Blanca churned up the west of Baja California Sunday, with the possibility of causing muggy weather in Southern California cities Tuesday.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said the storm would likely weaken to tropical storm status as its eye made landfall, near the northern boundary of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, on Monday.
Tropical storm warnings, for winds up to 39 miles an hour, were posted today on the Pacific Coast as far north as San Quentin on the western coast of Baja, about 250 miles south of San Diego. On the eastern side of Baja, tropical storm warnings were posted nearly as far north as San Felipe, about 140 miles south of El Centro.
Predictions showed the center of the storm could move across the Baja peninsula in a northerly track, into the Sea Of Cortez, and eventually cross into the United States late Monday. But is strength will deteriorate into a mere mass of subtropical thunderstorms and humidity by the time it hits California Tuesday evening, NWS forecasters ion San Diego said.
Rain may start Monday night in the U.S., and heavy rain and thunderstorms may hit San Diego Tuesday. Thunderstorms may linger in the deserts and mountains of Southern California through Wednesday.
The potential heavy rain could cause problems in recently-burned areas, the NWS said.
In the mountains of San Diego and Riverside counties, between .30 and .75 inches of rain were forecast, but locally-heavy gullywashers are possible, the NWS said.
The coast, valleys and deserts, as far north as Orange County and the Inland Empire, were forecast to get .05 to .10 inch of rain starting Tuesday night, although thunderstorms could produce more rain than that.
—City News Service
