ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) -- A strengthening Tropical Storm Andres roared toward Mexico's Pacific coast Monday, prompting emergency preparations for a storm that forecasters predicted would become the season's first hurricane.
Forecasters said Andres was likely to brush the coast at hurricane strength around the port city of Manzanillo by Tuesday. The forecast track showed its center later pushing up the coast near picturesque towns such as Barra de Navidad that are home to some American and Canadian expatriates.
At Barra de Navidad, northwest of Manzanillo, Agapito Garcia Martinez, security manager at the Grand Bay Hotel-Isla Navidad Resort said hotel staff were preparing to carry out storm preparations like taking in beach furniture and protecting hotel windows, but had not yet been advised by authorities to so.
Weather was still sunny despite stronger-than-usual winds, Garcia Martinez said, noting that guests were still checking in normally to the hotel.
But tomorrow, when Andres draws closer, might be a different story, he noted.
''Tomorrow, we expect to have a lot of water,'' Garcia Martinez said.
Mexico issued a hurricane warning for the Pacific coast from Cabo Corrientes to Punto San Telmo. A hurricane watch was in effect further south, from San Telmo to the port of Lazaro Cardenas.
Still further south on the coast, the Acapulco city government prepared 120 shelters and warned residents to stay indoors, especially some 15,000 people in 20 zones most at risk for flooding. Heavy rains late Sunday downed a few trees in the resort city.
Late Sunday night, Andres became the first named storm of the Eastern Pacific hurricane season, which began May 15 and ends November 30 and is typically busiest between July and September.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Andres was centered about 170 miles (275 kilometers) south-southeast of Manzanillo at 8 p.m. PDT (11 p.m. EDT; 0300 GMT) Monday, and it had sustained winds near 65 mph (100 kph), with higher gusts.
It was moving toward the northwest near 8 mph (13 kph). But the storm's winds are expected to build to as much as 75 mph (120 kph) by late Tuesday or Wednesday. The forecast track showed it brushing the central Mexican coast on Tuesday before weakening and bending toward the west a little short of the Los Cabos resorts at the tip of the Baja California Peninsula Thursday night or Friday.
It has been 40 years since it took so long for a named storm to develop in the Eastern Pacific.
''Normally that season gets under way somewhat earlier,'' said Richard Pasch, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. ''But it's not necessarily an indication that it'll be a quiet year in that basin. We've seen some years starting late and become quite active. We're just going to have to wait and see on that.''
Federal forecasters have predicted a near-normal or below-normal season, with the possibility for 13 to 18 named storms, including six to 10 hurricanes.
Rains unrelated to the tropical storm resulted in the death of six people and left four others missing in the northern border state of Chihuahua, after a van plunged into a rain-swollen river.
The state civil defense office said Monday that the bodies of two men, two women and two children -- all passengers in the van -- were recovered, but four passengers remain missing.
The accident occurred Sunday in the city of Cuauhtemoc.
Forecasters said Andres was likely to brush the coast at hurricane strength around the port city of Manzanillo by Tuesday. The forecast track showed its center later pushing up the coast near picturesque towns such as Barra de Navidad that are home to some American and Canadian expatriates.
At Barra de Navidad, northwest of Manzanillo, Agapito Garcia Martinez, security manager at the Grand Bay Hotel-Isla Navidad Resort said hotel staff were preparing to carry out storm preparations like taking in beach furniture and protecting hotel windows, but had not yet been advised by authorities to so.
Weather was still sunny despite stronger-than-usual winds, Garcia Martinez said, noting that guests were still checking in normally to the hotel.
But tomorrow, when Andres draws closer, might be a different story, he noted.
''Tomorrow, we expect to have a lot of water,'' Garcia Martinez said.
Mexico issued a hurricane warning for the Pacific coast from Cabo Corrientes to Punto San Telmo. A hurricane watch was in effect further south, from San Telmo to the port of Lazaro Cardenas.
Still further south on the coast, the Acapulco city government prepared 120 shelters and warned residents to stay indoors, especially some 15,000 people in 20 zones most at risk for flooding. Heavy rains late Sunday downed a few trees in the resort city.
Late Sunday night, Andres became the first named storm of the Eastern Pacific hurricane season, which began May 15 and ends November 30 and is typically busiest between July and September.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Andres was centered about 170 miles (275 kilometers) south-southeast of Manzanillo at 8 p.m. PDT (11 p.m. EDT; 0300 GMT) Monday, and it had sustained winds near 65 mph (100 kph), with higher gusts.
It was moving toward the northwest near 8 mph (13 kph). But the storm's winds are expected to build to as much as 75 mph (120 kph) by late Tuesday or Wednesday. The forecast track showed it brushing the central Mexican coast on Tuesday before weakening and bending toward the west a little short of the Los Cabos resorts at the tip of the Baja California Peninsula Thursday night or Friday.
It has been 40 years since it took so long for a named storm to develop in the Eastern Pacific.
''Normally that season gets under way somewhat earlier,'' said Richard Pasch, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. ''But it's not necessarily an indication that it'll be a quiet year in that basin. We've seen some years starting late and become quite active. We're just going to have to wait and see on that.''
Federal forecasters have predicted a near-normal or below-normal season, with the possibility for 13 to 18 named storms, including six to 10 hurricanes.
Rains unrelated to the tropical storm resulted in the death of six people and left four others missing in the northern border state of Chihuahua, after a van plunged into a rain-swollen river.
The state civil defense office said Monday that the bodies of two men, two women and two children -- all passengers in the van -- were recovered, but four passengers remain missing.
The accident occurred Sunday in the city of Cuauhtemoc.
0 comments:
Post a Comment