The Biden administration is urging Californians to take Tropical Storm Hilary seriously ahead of its expected Sunday evening arrival. It will be the first tropical storm to hit southern California since 1939, according to the National Weather Service.

“People really need to take this storm in California serious,” Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “The total rain amounts aren't like what we see in some of our Atlantic storms and Gulf storms, but it's going to really be potentially devastating for them in these desert areas.”

Most areas will receive 3 to 6 inches of rain, with isolated pockets of as many as 10 inches, FEMA said in a statement on Sunday.

“Residents should not focus on the exact track of the hurricane,” FEMA warned. “Hurricanes are immense systems, and their size, intensity, speed and direction can change quickly. Additionally, areas far from the storm’s center can experience effects such as flooding and heavy winds.”

In another interview on Sunday with CNN’s “State of the Union,” Criswell instructed Californians to listen to their local officials.

“If they're asking you to evacuate or stay in place, they're going to have the best information that you need to make sure that you are doing everything you can to protect you and your family,” she said. “Right now as people need to take the storm serious, they need tolisten to their local officials, and they need to make sure that they're not putting themselves in harm's way as the storm passes through.”

Criswell praised California as a “very capable state” with a lot of resources, but said FEMA has “a lot of staff on the ground already” and that the agency would have additional search and rescue teams on stand-by if needed.