A weakening Tropical Storm Blanca hit Mexico's Baja California Peninsula on Monday, with rains expected to soak a wide area, including the tourist resorts of Los Cabos. Recently a powerful category-4 hurricane with winds of 215 kilometers per hour (kph), Blanca on Monday became a tropical storm with winds of 75 kph, and it was expected to fade soon into a tropical depression. Recalling Hurricane Odile, which battered homes, businesses, and hotels when it hit Los Cabos as a category-3 storm last September, authorities put thousands of soldiers on alert and issued maritime warnings. Mexico's National Water Commission warned of strong winds, lighting, up to 6-meter surf, and "extraordinary rainfall," with possible localized accumulations of 25 centimeters or more in the southern half of Baja California, which includes Los Cabos. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Blanca is the earliest tropical cyclone on record to hit Baja California. It reached land near Puerto Cortes and was located about 60 kilometers east-northeast of Cabo San Lazaro. It was moving to the north-northwest at 24 kph.