Hurricane Priscilla Is Strengthening — How Will Storm Impact the U.S.?

Hurricane Priscilla is churning off the coast of Mexico, and could impact some areas of the United States.

As of the morning of Monday, Oct. 6, Priscilla was about 240 miles south-southwest of Cabo Corrientes, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of about 85 mph, according to a public advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, Fla.

The storm is currently moving north-northwest at about 5 mph, and is expected to bring heavy rains and gusty winds over parts of southwestern Mexico on Monday. A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect from Punta San Telmo to Punta Mita. 

Additionally, those in the southern Baja California Sur are being encouraged to monitor the storm, as its center “is expected to move offshore of and parallel to the coast of southwestern Mexico and Baja California Sur through the early-to-middle part of this week.”

Forecasters with the NHC said Priscilla is expected to become a Category 2 hurricane “and could approach major hurricane status within the next couple of days.” 

But Priscilla is expected to begin weakening around the middle of the week. According to a forecast discussion published by the NHC on Monday morning, “steady to rapid weakening is likely to commence in 2-3 days” as the system reaches “sharply cooler waters.”

AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva told Newsweek that the storm may impact the U.S., including areas that are “dealing with severe or extreme drought.”

“Despite the storm losing organization, a tropical surge of moisture is expected to move into the Southwest late this week or over the weekend,” DaSilva said. “While widespread flooding is not expected in the Southwest at this time, some localized flooding can occur.”

Western and central portions of Arizona could see flooding impacts from Priscilla beginning on Thursday, Oct. 9, according to a post on X from the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Flagstaff, Ariz. The impacts are expected to continue through Friday, Oct. 10, and “potentially” into the weekend.

Additionally, the NWS office in San Diego said in a post on X that “uncertainty remains” about whether Priscilla will impact the region, but they acknowledged the storm’s “potential to bring precipitation to the area” later in the week.

The NWS office in Las Vegas also warned of potential impacts from Priscilla in a post on X. The storm, according to forecasters, is expected to bring “increasing chances of precipitation along with cooler temperatures late in the week and into the weekend.”

Tropical-storm-force winds are expected to come “close to portions of Baja California Sur” around Tuesday, Oct. 7, and Wednesday, Oct. 8, NHC forecasters said.

Heavy rainfall associated with Priscilla is also expected to impact portions of Baja California Sur, “which could result in flash flooding, particularly in areas of higher terrain,” forecasters added.

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“Life-threatening” swells and rip currents generated by Priscilla are already affecting portions of the Mexican coast “and will reach the coasts of the southern Baja California peninsula” on Monday, they said.

Priscilla is the 16th named storm of the 2025 Eastern Pacific hurricane season, which began June 1 and lasts through November 30.