How will Hurricane Hilary impact the state of Utah?

SALT LAKE CITY — Hurricane Hilary has created the first tropical storm watch in Southern California in nearly a century.

Christine Kruse, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, explains what this means for Utah.

“For Utahns, it may not look all that different than what we are seeing right now,” she said. “We’re in a monsoon surge right now. As we go into the weekend, we are going to transition into this tropical moisture that is well ahead of Hurricane Hilary.”

Kruse says it won’t feel like a hurricane in The Beehive State.

“For Utah, it is unlikely that we will see any enhanced winds from the tropical cyclone itself,” she said. “Our biggest (concern) will be that the tropical moisture and potential flash flooding.”

Hurricane Hilary has grown to a category 4 in strength. 

Kruse says the storm intensified once it over Baja, California. She should it should continue into the central part of the state over the next few days.

Mark Jones contributed to this article. 

Read more:

• Threat of severe weather moves into Utah, watch issued through 8 p.m.
• Another round of severe weather rolled through Salt Lake County Thursday night