Footage From Space Shows Hurricane Hilary Approaching California Coast 

Footage shot from space shows powerful swirls in the Pacific Ocean as Hurricane Hilary approaches California.

The International Space Station caught the footage on Thursday, when Hurricane Hilary was a Category 2 storm. In the hours since this footage was taken, Hilary has changed strength, first being upgraded to a Category 4 Hurricane before this morning's guidance showing the storm as a Category 3. 

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) classifies Category 3 as a major storm with winds between 111 and 129 mph, capable of causing “devastating damage.” A Category 3 storm has the potential to uproot trees, tear roof decking off well-built homes, and cause days-long power outages.

The latest public advisory on Hilary from the NHC says forecasters expect “catastrophic and life-threatening flooding” over parts of Baja California and the southwestern United States, as well as “hurricane-force winds” over the weekend. 

Hilary is reaching maximum sustained winds of up to 130 mph. It’s expected to weaken today, the NHC advisory says, but it will “still be a hurricane when it approaches the west coast.” Meteorologists predict Hilary will weaken to a tropical storm “by midday Sunday before it reaches southern California.”

The storm is expected to bring heavy rainfall, gusty winds, and large swells. 

“A dangerous storm surge is likely to produce coastal flooding along the western Baja California peninsula of Mexico near where the center passes the coast in areas of onshore winds, or east of the center if Hilary makes landfall,” the advisory says. “The surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves.”