Tropical Storm Sonia, named Saturday, is expected to hit mainland Mexico by early Monday. Sonia is currently about 205 miles south of Los Cabos, at the edge of California’s Baja Peninsula. The storm is traveling north at 14 miles per hour.

According the the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Sonia’s maximum sustained winds are reaching 45 mph, and she is expected to subject much of western Mexico to heavy rainfall and, potentially, deadly flooding and mudslides.

The Mexican government issued a hurricane watch yesterday for an area of the coast extending from the port of Topolobampo down to La Cruz. The warning also includes the mainland areas from Mazatlan through Altata. The water commission suggested that as many as seven other states, both western and northern, could expect to receive heavy rainfall, as well.

Western Mexico has already experienced heavy rains and flooding in recent months, and will now likely be hit again. September brought two tropical storms, Manuel and Ingrid, which caused the deadliest flooding on record in the country, and approximately $6 billion worth of damages. Combined, Manuel and Ingrid killed a total of more than 150 people. Then, last month, Hurricane Raymond hit Mexico and caused more flooding, though no fatalities were reported.

The National Hurricane Center describes the Atlantic hurricane season as being June 1 – November 30, and the Eastern Pacific season as May 15 – November 30.

You can follow the storm’s path on the NHC’s Web site, www.nhc.noaa.gov.

Main image courtesy @CNNweather via Twitter.