Mexico ? Tropical Storm Julio drenched the resort-studded southern Baja California peninsula with heavy rains Sunday as authorities evacuated more than 2,500 families living along riverbeds near the coast.

Julio moved over Baja with sustained winds of 45 mph and was pushing inland and northward past Cabo San Lucas, where many families moved to shelters.

The U.S. Hurricane Center in Miami said Julio could dump 3 to 6 inches of rain on the normally parched Mexican peninsula, raising fears of flash flooding. The storm was expected to weaken to a tropical depression late today.

Most vacationers rode out the bad weather inside their hotel rooms, but some ventured out on shopping trips and excursions on Sunday.