Hilary slowing to tropical storm as it moves toward Fresno area, with more rain ahead

The leading edge of Hurricane Hilary was bringing rainfall Sunday morning to Kern County, the National Weather Service reported, with more impacts still to come in the Fresno area.

Meteorologist Carlos Molina in Hanford said the storm was transitioning to a tropical storm after making landfall in Southern California and had dropped between a tenth and a quarter of an inch of precipitation to higher elevations.

The storm is expected to bring from .01 to .10 of an inch to the Fresno County mountains. Molina said that by Sunday afternoon, heavier rain would arrive in the Fresno area, likely by 2 or 3 p.m., with the heaviest rainfall before sunset.

Fresno is likely to receive a half-inch of rain by Monday morning.

Monday, thunderstorms and rain showers are likely, Molina added, saying another quarter-inch of rain was expected before skies clear Tuesday.

Winds that accompany the storm are expected to reach 20 to 30 mph at upper elevations, and 10 to 15 mph on the Valley floor.

Some Fresnans awoke to toppled trees and power outages after high winds swept through the area Saturday evening.