Climateupdated 2h ago2 min read
Hurricane Trudy Strengthens Into Category 3 Off Mexico’s Pacific Coast
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Trudy intensified to Category 3 with winds near 195 km/h off Mexico’s Pacific coast. About 400 km southwest of Acapulco, it approached the southwestern Mexican coast.
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Trudy becomes Category 3
Hurricane Trudy strengthened into a major Category 3 hurricane off Mexico’s Pacific coast, with meteorologists saying the storm was moving toward the southwest and the southwestern Pacific coast of Mexico.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami reported that early Friday Trudy was about 400 kilometers (250 miles) southwest of Acapulco and about 570 kilometers (355 miles) south-southeast of Manzanillo, with maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour (120 mph) as it moved northwest at 9 km/h (6 mph).
A hurricane warning was in effect for Mexico’s coast from Cabo Corrientes to Punta San Telmo in the north, and a tropical storm warning was issued from Zihuatanejo along the coast to Manzanillo.
Tropical Storm Simon sat to the northwest of Trudy with winds of 75 km/h (45 mph) and was expected to weaken soon into a remnant low, while Tropical Storm Champi was east of Guam with maximum sustained winds reaching 86 km/h (52 mph).
Warnings and rainfall risk
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said a hurricane warning was in effect for Mexico’s coast from Cabo Corrientes northward to Punta San Telmo, while a tropical storm warning was issued from Zihuatanejo up the coast to Manzanillo.
The hurricane was expected to approach the coast of southwestern and west-central Mexico this weekend, and the center said Trudy was moving northwest at 6 mph (9 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 kph).
The New York Post, citing the Associated Press, said Trudy was on track to become a major hurricane on Friday and bring rainfall of 4 to 8 inches (101 to 203 millimeters) through the weekend across Colima and Jalisco states.
La Chaîne Météo said Trudy reached Category 3/5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale with sustained winds of 195 km/h and a central pressure of 957 hPa, and it warned that heavy rains, floods and submersion were risks for Mexico this weekend.
Track uncertainty, preparations
El Informador said Trudy could make landfall on Sunday as a Category 3 or 2 hurricane, and it placed the storm’s path toward Mexico’s Pacific coast in the states of Michoacán, Colima, Jalisco, and Nayarit. The National Water Commission (Conagua) reported at 3:00 a.m. on Friday that Trudy was 400 km southwest of Acapulco, Guerrero, and 415 km south of Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, moving northwest at 9 km/h with sustained winds of 195 km/h and gusts of 240 km/h.
La Chaîne Météo said Mexican authorities urged coastal populations to remain highly vigilant, and it described risks of flash floods and landslides in Guerrero and Michoacán that were expected to intensify this weekend, particularly in Colima and Jalisco. Univision said the National Hurricane Center forecast that Trudy could exceed 142 mph, and it said the forecast track would keep the system near the coasts of the southwest and central-west of Mexico over the weekend while coastal communities remained under watch for strong winds and dangerous surf.