Hurricane Kay prompts warnings for Mexico’s Baja California 

Hurricane Kay will bring strong winds and heavy rain to Mexico’s Baja California on Wednesday and Thursday before the storm’s impacts spread into Southern California and the Desert Southwest from Friday into this weekend.

A Hurricane Warning has been issued on the Pacific side of Baja California from north of Punta Abreojos to San Jose de las Palomas. A Hurricane Watch is also in effect farther south on the Pacific side of the Baja Peninsula from Puerto Cortes to Punta Abreojos.

Tropical Storm Warnings have been posted on the Pacific side of Baja California from Punta Abreojos southward to Cabo San Lucas and on the Gulf of California side from Cabo San Lucas northward along the entire coastline of the Baja Peninsula and then southward to Guaymas in mainland northwestern Mexico. A Tropical Storm Warning is also in effect farther north along the Pacific side of Baja California from San Jose de las Palomas to Cabo San Quintin.

Additionally, a Tropical Storm Watch has been issued from Cabo San Quintin to the U.S./Mexico border on the Pacific side of the Baja Peninsula.

As of midday Wednesday, Hurricane Kay was centered more than 200 miles southwest of Mexico’s Baja California and was moving north-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph.

Kay’s maximum sustained winds were estimated at 105 mph, making it a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

The forecast track from the National Hurricane Center shows Hurricane Kay moving north-northwestward through Friday.

On this path, the center of Hurricane Kay is forecast to pass to the west of the southern Baja California Peninsula on Wednesday, then be near the west-central coast of Baja California Thursday and Friday.

Some additional strengthening is predicted on Wednesday before the hurricane begins to weaken on Thursday. However, Kay is expected to remain a large hurricane when it passes near the west-central coast of the Baja Peninsula.