Colima beaches evacuated as Hurricane Priscilla gains strength off Pacific coast

Hurricane Priscilla strengthened aboriginal Monday arsenic it moved parallel to Mexico’s Pacific coast, prompting authorities to contented tempest warnings. 

Priscilla — which is expected to go a Category 2 hurricane successful the coming days — is bringing rainfall to overmuch of mainland Mexico and gusty winds on the occidental coast, prompting the National Meteorological Service (SMN) to contented a Tropical Storm Watch successful 5 states.

The Watch was issued for the mainland from Punta San Telmo, Michoacán, northbound to Punta Mita, Nayarit, and from Cabo San Lucas to Colonia Santa Fe successful Baja California.

The menace was specified that Colima authorities officials ordered the evacuation of each beachfront areas connected Sunday portion besides shuttering the larboard of Manzanillo, the country’s astir important maritime port.

The Category 1 hurricane, which was tracking dilatory north-northwestward astatine 7 kilometers per hour, was located 350 km south-southwest of Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco (near the edifice municipality of Puerto Vallarta), and 655 km south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur astatine 9 a.m.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Priscilla’s halfway “is expected to determination offshore of and parallel to the seashore of southwestern Mexico and Baja California Sur done the early-to-middle portion of this week.” 

In an 8 a.m. experimental cone forecast, the NHC reported that sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph) — with gusts reaching 105 mph (170 kph) — were expected to origin unsafe surf and rip currents on coastal southwestern and west-central Mexico, arsenic good arsenic confederate Baja California.

The National Water Commission (Conagua) posted a informing connected societal media, urging utmost caution successful coastal areas. Conagua said waves of up to 6 meters could scope the beaches of Jalisco and Colima, with breakers of up to 4 meters coming ashore successful Michoacán and 3-meter-high waves successful the states of Nayarit and Guerrero.

The NHC warned that hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 50 miles (85 km) from the halfway and tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 205 miles (335 km). 

Conagua forecast torrential rains (150 to 250 millimeters) successful Michoacán, and aggravated rains (75 to 150 mm) successful Jalisco, Colima and Guerrero connected Monday.

As the tempest has the imaginable to scope large hurricane presumption (Category 3 and above), Conagua and the SMN impulse the nationalist to wage heed to authorities and section authorities arsenic they show Priscilla’s progress.

With reports from La Jornada, CBS News, the New York Times and El Financiero