Hurricane Kay Update: Watches, Warnings in Effect for Parts of California

Hurricane Kay is off the West Coast and is expected to make landfall in California, prompting hurricane watches and warnings to be issued by weather officials.

In a public advisory on Thursday morning, the National Hurricane Center said that Hurricane Kay is "continuing its approach to Baja California."

"Expected to bring Hurricane Conditions to portions of the West Coast of the Baja California Peninsula later today," the advisory said. According to the National Hurricane Center, a Hurricane Warning is in effect for areas located "North of Punta Abreojos to San Jose De Las Palomas," while a Hurricane Watch is in effect for "Puerto Cortes to Punta Abreojos."

The update from the National Hurricane Center comes as Hurricane Kay has continued to strengthen while California is currently facing several other extreme weather incidents. Over the past several days, parts of California have experienced a wave of high temperatures, with some areas seeing record-breaking or record-tying single-day temperatures.

In a tweet on Thursday, the National Weather Service in Los Angeles said that residents can expect a "relief" from the extreme heat this weekend, but noted that "Until then take caution with the heat by avoiding peak heat of the day when possible and staying hydrated." According to the tweet, areas located in the valleys and mountains could see temperatures in the triple digits.

In addition to the heat wave, California is also battling several wildfires, including the Mountain Fire, which has burned over 11,000 acres, and the Mosquito Fire, which grew from 1,000 acres to over 5,000 acres on Wednesday night.

In the update on Thursday morning, the National Hurricane Center said, "As the center of Kay passes near or over the Baja California peninsula, heavy rainfall could lead to flash flooding, including landslides, across the Baja California peninsula and portions of mainland northwestern Mexico through Saturday morning. Flash, urban and small stream flooding is possible across Southern California, especially in and near the peninsular ranges, and Southwest Arizona, Friday into Saturday."

The update continued, "Hurricane conditions are expected along portions of the west-central Baja California coast later this morning through this evening, and a hurricane warning is in effect for that area."

On Wednesday, the National Weather Service in San Diego alerted residents of a possible "abrupt change" in weather conditions due to Hurricane Kay, "from windy and hot with increasing fire weather danger through Friday to tropical and wet with flash flooding potential late Friday-Saturday."

On the other side of the U.S., two other hurricanes have formed in the Atlantic, following a slow start to the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season.

Newsweek reached out to the National Hurricane Center for comment.