Tropical Storm Kay veers away from Mexico-California border

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Tropical Storm Kay veered out into the Pacific just short of the U.S. border Friday, while dumping rain on parts of northwestern Mexico and Southern California.

The eye of Kay came ashore as a hurricane near Mexico’s Bahia Asuncion in Baja California Sur state Thursday afternoon, but it quickly weakend into a tropical storm after moving back out over open water.

At midafternoon Friday, it had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and was becoming less organized, with forecasters predicting it would diminish to a remnant low overnight.

Kay was centered about 130 miles (205 kilometers) south-southwest of San Diego, California, and was moving northwest at 12 mph (19 kph). The storm was expected to start a more marked turn to the west that would take it farther out into the Pacific.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said that “flash, urban, and small stream flooding” was a threat across Southern California and southwestern Arizona.

The center said southernmost California could see 2 to 4 inches of rain, with isolated areas getting 6 to 8 inches. It said the Sierra Nevada, Arizona and Southern Nevada might receive 1 to 2 inches, with isolated spots at 3 inches.

Meanwhile in the Atlantic, Hurricane Earl continued heading out into the open seas after passing southeast of Bermuda.

Late Friday afternoon, Earl was centered about 430 miles (690 kilometers) northeast of Bermuda. It had maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 kph) and was moving northeast at 26 mph (43 kph).

Earl knocked out power to 1,500 customers as it brushed past Bermuda early Friday, downing several trees in the British territory. Crews had cleared roads by midday and were working to restore power to the few homes still in the dark.

Government agencies and public transportation were operating as usual, while ferries were scheduled to restart service Friday afternoon.