A tropical storm that formed off the coast of Mexico on Wednesday is threatening Southern California and its neighbors, a rare forecast that could bring significant rainfall to Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, and beyond.

Over the next few days, Tropical Storm Hilary is expected to strengthen into a major hurricane as it moves northwest over warm waters toward Mexico’s Baja California peninsula before it weakens and impacts the Southwestern United States, according to a National Hurricane Center (NHC) post.

Though there is a lot of uncertainty in the extended outlook, including the intensity and exact track of the system, the NHC urged people to monitor the forecast and look out for effects such as large swells and strong winds heading into the weekend. The main concern for the Southwestern U.S. now appears to be rainfall.

“Confidence continues to increase on a heavy rainfall and potentially high impact event to [unfold] and focus across parts of the Southwest and California Saturday to Monday associated with a deep lead moisture plume and favorable ingredients in advance of the forecast approach of extratropically transitioning Hurricane Hilary out from the tropical east Pacific,” the National Weather Service said on Wednesday, citing the NHC.

4PM CDT Wednesday, August 16 Key Messages for Tropical Storm #Hilary. https://t.co/BGf3hweIju pic.twitter.com/jcQSEp5YvY

— NHC Eastern Pacific (@NHC_Pacific) August 16, 2023

California, as well as Nevada and Arizona, could get inundated in certain parts with local rainfall amounts varying from 1-4 inches — if not more. As with any forecast, those predicted numbers may change over time.

Tropical Cyclone Hilary will move along the Baja Peninsula this weekend bringing a big increase in moisture and rainfall activity. The heaviest rainfall at this time is expected over southwest AZ and southeast CA, where the greatest flash flood potential will be. #azwx #cawx pic.twitter.com/k4zqybN4pj

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) August 16, 2023

“It’s been a rather sleepy monsoon season, but that could change this weekend as tropical activity spices things up,” said the National Weather Service branch for Las Vegas. “There remains *a lot* of uncertainty in the details, but the ingredients are coming together for a wet weekend in the area. Stay tuned!”

It's been a rather sleepy monsoon season, but that could change this weekend as tropical activity spices things up. There remains *a lot* of uncertainty in the details, but the ingredients are coming together for a wet weekend in the area. Stay tuned! #nvwx #cawx #azwx pic.twitter.com/TqyiDz2m4T

— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) August 16, 2023

As explained in a Weather Underground post from last year, tropical cyclones hitting California are a rare weather phenomenon because of unfavorable conditions in the area such as cooler water and high pressure, though the state has been more commonly impacted by the remnants of such storms.

A couple systems that were tropical storm strength have rolled into Southern California over land in recent decades, but the only time on record that one made landfall there dates back to the 1930s.

“Pattern movement allows #Hilary and it’s moisture to come north towards Southern California Sunday and Monday,” Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore said in a post to X. “1939 was the last tropical storm landfall so we don’t have a lot to gauge this on, but we know any high rate events like a tropical system pose a threat for FLASH FLOODING especially over burn scars and steep terrain.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis criticized former President Donald Trump during an interview on Wednesday over the possibility that he may not show up to the first Republican Party primary debate next week in Milwaukee.

DeSantis told Guy Benson on Fox News Radio that he expects to be the person who takes the most shots from other candidates since he is the only candidate other than the former president polling in double digits.

“Clearly, I’m the only guy that Trump’s campaign attacks,” DeSantis said. “And then the other candidates, a lot of them don’t really say much about Donald Trump, and they — they focus more on me.”

The governor said that he looks forward to speaking to tens of millions of Americans who have not yet paid attention to the primaries.

“Ever since we won re-election in Florida by such a historic margin, people have identified me as a threat,” he said. “The Democrats have identified me as a threat. Biden, Harris, they spend more time attacking me than anybody else. The media, they have been after me. I have probably had more hit pieces from the corporate press than any other candidate running.”

“They want to create the narrative that somehow he’s inevitable,” he later added. “But I think the fact that they frantically attack me all the time shows that they don’t actually believe that.”

DeSantis also said that Trump only showed up to the Iowa State Fair over the weekend when the Florida governor was participating in the events there and said that Trump did it “to try to take some of the attention away from us.”

“So, if you already had it in the bag, you would not worry about any other candidate,” he continued. “I have been in races where I had it in the bag. I was not out there attacking people that I was 40 or 50 points ahead of. So, he owes it to people to go up there and debate.”

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DeSantis said that one of the main reasons Trump does not want to debate is because he does not want to have to defend his record in terms of some of the things that he promised to do while campaigning in 2016, but later failed to do.

Never Back Down, the Super PAC supporting DeSantis, released an ad on Wednesday taunting the former president for not yet committing to show up to the debate.

“Donald Trump used to mock Democrats for refusing to debate,” the ad states at the outset as it shows the former president doing so.

The ad then skips to Fox News anchor Bret Baier asking Trump in an interview about him potentially not showing up to the event.

“We can’t afford a nominee who is too weak to debate,” the ad states. “We need a nominee with stamina. A nominee who’s sharp.”

“Republicans deserve a candidate who earns our vote,” it continues. “Not one who demands it. What happened to Donald Trump?”

Republicans need a nominee with stamina. A nominee who's sharp.

We deserve a candidate who earns our vote — not one who demands it. pic.twitter.com/Tf3Cf4RrtX

— Never Back Down (@NvrBackDown24) August 16, 2023