Has Hilary reached hurricane status? Here's what Arizonans need to know

Tropical Storm Hilary as of Saturday evening was a Category 1 storm, according to the Associated Press. Here is what Arizonans need to know about the storm's potential impact to the Grand Canyon state.

Hilary began as a tropical storm on Wednesday when it formed off of Mexico's southern Pacific coast, according to the Associated Press, stirring up 40 mph winds around 370 miles south-southeast from the port city of Manzanillo.

While moving in a west-to-northwest direction, Hilary was expected to pivot toward the north at some point during the week, setting the Baja Peninsula in its sights.

The quickly growing system has done just that, officially becoming a Category 2 hurricane on Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center, with plans of strengthening to major status (Category 3+) later the same day.

Models show Hilary's path on a collision course with the likes of Baja California and chunks of the southwestern U.S., with its effects pushing as far north as Nevada.

Specific Storm Map:

"Heaviest rainfall amounts will especially focus over parts of the Southwest U.S./Southern California, but remain locally uncertain as dependent on the ultimate track of Hilary," the weather service said.

For California, landfall from Hilary would make it the first hurricane to impact the Golden State itself since 1859, when a Category 1 hit the San Diego and Long Beach areas, pushing winds near 80 mph.

Hurricane Hilary updates: Sky Harbor sees flight cancellations, delays

A recent advisory sent out by the Hurricane Center addressed key points of Hilary's impact, citing the possibility of flash flooding resulting in landslides in areas of the Baja California Peninsula from late Friday into late Sunday.

"Hilary has the potential to bring significant impacts to the Baja California Peninsula and portions of the southwestern United States this weekend and early next week, including after it becomes post-tropical," the advisory read. "Although it is too soon to determine the location and magnitude of wind impacts, interests in these areas should monitor the progress of Hilary and updates to the forecast."

Moisture levels rising as Arizona preps for Hilary

Hilary's reach will stretch into the Copper state, likely beginning Friday. However, as of Thursday, its effects are slated to heavily impact southwest Arizona while bringing some increased chance of showers to the greater Phoenix area.

"It's definitely going to be mainly allocated to more of southern California as well as southwest Arizona, but definitely with that we are expecting a pretty strong moisture surge, so we could be getting some better rainfall within the Phoenix metro area," meteorologist Jessica Leffel, of the National Weather Service in Phoenix, told The Arizona Republic.

More weather: Rain, storms roll across metro Phoenix; Hurricane Hilary heads toward Southern California, potentially bringing rain to western Arizona

The weather service designated a "target area" of their concern, primarily toward the west-southwestern portions of the region, like southeastern California, Joshua Tree National Park, southwestern Arizona, and Yuma when it comes to flooding and high winds.

According to Leffel, current forecasts show impacts kicking off Friday with the increase in moisture levels, setting the stage for Saturday to be the storm's tipping point.

"We're looking like the best chance is going to be more-so Saturday going into the rest of the weekend and even extending into early next week on Monday or so," Leffel said.

The weather service is still tracking the pathways as Hilary continues to move closer toward the coast, but residents should be prepared to receive flood warnings in anticipation of the storm's arrival.

How does Hilary bode for Phoenix?

Phoenix is not in Hilary's path the same way that Yuma is, however the hurricane's impact will likely ripple throughout the Valley thanks to those increased moisture levels.

"Current trajectory that we're seeing is that it's going to move all the way up the Baja Peninsula and then kind of move more into Southern California, so a little bit more along the coast there," Leffel said. "Not quite as eastward and upward to be impacting the metro area, so because that trajectory is a bit further west, we won't be seeing quite as much of the rainfall total."

For the week, Phoenix's 7-day forecast for Sky Harbor International Airport lists a 30% chance of thunderstorms starting Thursday night and steadily growing as the weekend progresses.

A high of 105 degrees is expected for Friday, but peak temperatures too will decrease with higher chances of rain, dropping to the high 90s during the weekend.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Has Hilary reached hurricane status? Here's what Arizonans need to know