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CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Blanca is getting weaker, but it's nearing Mexico's Baja California Peninsula.
Mexican authorities have put thousands of troops on alert, while residents and businesses have boarded over windows ahead of Blanca's arrival.
The unpredictable storm strengthened rapidly to a Category 4 storm yesterday, but the U.S. National Hurricane Center has downgraded it to Category 1. Blanca is expected to weaken further to a tropical storm and pass to the west of the peninsula's southern tip, moving near or along its southwestern coastline this evening and on Monday.
But with memories still fresh from Hurricane Odile (oh-DEEL'), Mexican officials have been warning residents along the coast to be prepared for intense rains with up to 10 inches possible. Civil Protection officials in Los Cabos say no evacuations have been ordered, but nine emergency shelters have been readied.
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APPHOTO NY5W: This NOAA satellite image taken Sunday, June 7, 2015 at 10:00 AM EDT shows a lingering stationary front over the central Plains, central Rockies and Great Basin. Scattered rain showers and thunderstorms will form along this boundary. An area of low pressure over Nebraska will move eastward along the boundary with rain and scattered thunderstorms. In contrast, a broad area of high pressure brings mostly sunny skies from the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West through California. Further south, Hurricane Blanca continues to move on a northwest path and will skirt the western Baja Peninsula. Blanca has maximum sustained winds of 90 miles per hour and will continue to weaken. (AP Photo/Weather Underground) (7 Jun 2015)
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APPHOTO MXEV109: People watch the sea at El Medano Beach before the arrival of Hurricane Blanca, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Sunday June 7, 2015. The unpredictable storm strengthened rapidly to a Category 4 storm on Saturday, but the U.S. National Hurricane Center says it has since weakened to Category 1 with top winds near 90 mph. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) (7 Jun 2015)
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APPHOTO MXEV105: A couple take a selfie at El Medano Beach before the arrival of Hurricane Blanca, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Sunday June 7, 2015. The unpredictable storm strengthened rapidly to a Category 4 storm on Saturday, but the U.S. National Hurricane Center says it has since weakened to Category 1 with top winds near 90 mph. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) (7 Jun 2015)
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APPHOTO MXEV103: A worker hauls a board to use on a storefront window as protection against Hurricane Blanca in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Saturday June 6, 2015. The unpredictable Blanca, which strengthened suddenly from a Category 1 to a Category 4 storm on Saturday before weakening slightly, is expected to make landfall as a tropical storm on Monday. But authorities said its outer bands could start hitting the southern Baja California Peninsula as a hurricane on Sunday. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) (6 Jun 2015)
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APPHOTO MXEV102: Workers board over store front windows in preparation for Hurricane Blanca, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Saturday June 6, 2015. The unpredictable Blanca, which strengthened suddenly from a Category 1 to a Category 4 storm on Saturday before weakening slightly, is expected to make landfall as a tropical storm on Monday. But authorities said its outer bands could start hitting the southern Baja California Peninsula as a hurricane on Sunday. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) (6 Jun 2015)
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