By AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Aug. 26, 2021 6:20 PM EDT
A strengthening tropical storm near the southwestern coast of Mexico is threatening to become the next hurricane in the eastern Pacific, and AccuWeather meteorologists say it may bring significant impacts near its track.
This bout of tropical activity in the eastern Pacific comes in conjunction with another potential hurricane brewing in the western Caribbean.
Tropical Storm Nora is centered several hundred miles to the southwest of Mexico, but it is expected to bring bouts of heavy rainfall from the end of the week and into the weekend as it strengthens and nears the coastline.
There is a chance that Nora makes landfall along the Baja Peninsula of Mexico late Sunday or early Monday. But, regardless of the whether Nora makes landfall or stays just offshore, that region of Mexico as well as part of the mainland will feel the effects.
"Tropical Storm Nora can produce widespread heavy rain along the southwestern coast of Mexico into Saturday night," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller.
Nora is expected to strengthen into a hurricane early this weekend once maximum sustained winds reach 74 mph (119 km/h).
While landfall is not currently expected, Nora will be close enough to bring heavy, potentially flooding rainfall from southwestern Oaxaca to coastal Jalisco through Saturday night. Widespread rainfall of 4-8 inches (100-200 mm) and an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 15 inches (380 mm) can produce flooding.
Given the mountainous terrain across the region, mudslides will be possible as well where the heaviest of the rain falls.
The heaviest of the rain will fall across southwestern Oaxaca and coastal Guerrero from Thursday night into Saturday, while heavy rain is expected in western Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco from later on Friday into Saturday night.
"The track of Nora is expected to remain far enough offshore to avoid widespread wind damage along the southwest coast of Mexico, but there can be locally damaging wind gusts along this section of coastline from western Guerrero to Jalisco," added Miller.
Coastal Jalisco will be at the greatest risk for damaging wind gusts as the storm makes its closest pass to land as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale with maximum sustained winds 74-95 mph (119-153 km/h).
The risk to lives and property is expected to increase as the storm track near the southern tip of Baja California Sur from Sunday night into Monday.
In this area, potential Hurricane Nora can track close enough to bring not only heavy rain but also a significant threat of damaging wind gusts. Because of the heavy rain in southwestern Mexico and the threat of wind damage in Baja California Sur, future Nora will be a 1 on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"Due to rapidly cooling ocean water along the storm's track to the west of Baja California, Nora is expected to quickly lose wind intensity as it tracks farther to the north," said Miller.
Despite becoming a tropical rainstorm by the middle of next week and remaining offshore, it can bring an increase in moisture across the southwestern United States, helping to fuel another round of monsoonal showers and thunderstorms across the Four Corner states around the middle and end of next week.
More to see:
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
No comments:
Post a Comment