Hurricane Hilary intensifying, to deluge California, Nevada and Arizona

Hurricane Hilary is rapidly strengthening into a major hurricane Thursday and is poised to bring an array of life-threatening hazards to California and neighboring states beginning this weekend.

Threat level: Hilary is likely to become a Category 3 storm before the end of the day Thursday and continue intensifying from there. It is forecast to approach the Baja Peninsula of California on Saturday, bringing flooding rains into southern California, Nevada and Arizona from this weekend into early next week.

A high-impact, dangerous flooding scenario is likely to play out across...