Mexico City, Oct. 19 (EFE) – Hurricane Norma reduced its intensity to category 3 on Thursday afternoon during its advance toward northwestern Mexico, where it will make up to two landfalls during the weekend, the National Meteorological Service (SMN) reported.
The phenomenon, which had risen to category 4 a few hours earlier, was located 380 kilometers (236 mi) southwest of Playa Pérula, in the state of Jalisco, and 630 kilometers (391 mi) south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, one of Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations.
The cyclone has sustained winds of 205 kilometers per hour (127 mi/h) with gusts of 250 kilometers per hour (155 mi/h) and is moving north at 9 kilometers per hour (5 mi/h), according to the latest report from the National Water Commission (Conagua).
Due to the passage of the hurricane, the forecast for Thursday calls for intense rains in the states of Jalisco and Colima, as well as heavy rains in Nayarit, Michoacán and Guerrero.
The precipitation “could increase the levels of rivers and streams, causing landslides and flooding in these entities. In addition, it increases the probability of showers in Baja California Sur and Sinaloa,” the SMN warned.
The warning also estimated wind gusts of 90 to 110 kilometers per hour (55 to 68 mi/h) with “possible formation of waterspouts” and waves of 3 to 5 meters high on the coasts of Jalisco, Colima and Michoacán.
Likewise, it predicted gusts of 60 to 80 kilometers per hour (37 to 49 mi/h) and waves of 2 to 3 meters (6 to 9 ft) high on the coasts of Baja California Sur, Nayarit and Guerrero.
For this reason, the SMN asked “that the general population in the areas of the aforementioned states take extreme precautions against rain, wind and waves”.
Norma comes after the double blow of hurricanes Lidia and Max last week, which left a total of five dead, one in Nayarit, two in Jalisco and two in Guerrero.
Norma, which became a storm on Tuesday, is the 14th named cyclone of the season in the Pacific, where Adrian, Beatriz, Calvin, Dora, Eugene, Fernanda, Greg, Hilary, Irwin, Jova, Kenneth, Lidia, and Max have been.
The most devastating was Hilary, which killed four people in August in the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur and Sinaloa, all in northern Mexico.
In May, the Mexican government predicted the formation of up to 38 named hurricanes in the 2023 season, five of which could hit the country.
Of these, between 16 and 22 systems could occur in the Pacific and between 10 and 16 in the Atlantic. EFE
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