Hurricane Norma Threatens Mexico’s Los Cabos Resort Area
CNN – Hurricane Norma is expected to make landfall in Mexico’s popular Los Cabos resort area on Saturday, bringing destructive winds, flash flooding, and a dangerous storm surge. The Category 2 storm is predicted to hit parts of Baja California Sur, including Cabo San Lucas, in the late afternoon or early evening, according to the National Hurricane Center. Despite being slightly weaker upon landfall, Norma still poses a significant threat to the tourist-friendly region. The storm is expected to bring life-threatening conditions to the area, which is home to a few hundred thousand people.
Simultaneously, Hurricane Tammy, a Category 1 storm, is heading towards island nations in the Atlantic. The Leeward Islands, a chain of several island nations and territories, have been issued hurricane warnings. Tammy’s winds have accelerated to 85 miles per hour. Fortunately, neither Norma nor Tammy pose a threat to the United States.
Norma’s maximum sustained winds have dwindled to 100 mph. As of late Saturday morning, the eye of the storm was located about 30 miles west-southwest of Cabo San Lucas. The hurricane center reported that rainfall and tropical storm conditions were already beginning to affect the area. A hurricane warning was in effect for the southern parts of Baja California Sur, including Cabo San Lucas. The hurricane center warned of a dangerous storm surge that could produce coastal flooding and large destructive waves along the coastline. Norma is also expected to bring heavy rainfall, with totals ranging from 6 to 12 inches and isolated areas seeing up to 18 inches. The storm is forecasted to weaken as it moves towards the Gulf of California on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Tammy has slightly strengthened with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph. The storm is approximately 50 miles east-southeast of Guadeloupe. Tammy is expected to pass near or over the Leeward Islands, including Guadeloupe and Antigua and Barbuda, before moving north of the northern Leeward Islands on Sunday. Hurricane-force winds extend up to 25 miles from the center, with tropical storm-force winds reaching up to 125 miles. The Leeward Islands are expected to experience a storm surge of 1 to 3 feet, along with heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding and mudslides. Rainfall totals for the region are predicted to be between 4 to 8 inches, with the possibility of a foot in areas with the heaviest rain. Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands, and the US Virgin Islands are expected to receive lighter rainfall amounts.
Though hurricanes in this part of the Atlantic are unusual for late October, experts had previously warned of such occurrences due to the exceptionally warm Atlantic Ocean this year. Hurricane Tammy is only the third hurricane to form this far southeast in the Atlantic since 1900. It is also the latest-forming hurricane in this region since 1966.
As Hurricane Tammy advances, only two names – Vince and Whitney – remain on the standard Atlantic storm name list before the hurricane center turns to an alternate list of names.