Tropical Storm Lorena to bring heavy rain to 4 states before weekend landfall

Mexico’s National Meteorological Service (SMN) has issued advisories for 4 Pacific Coast states aft Tropical Storm Lorena formed aboriginal Tuesday.

The National Water Commission (Conagua) alerted states successful the storm’s way aft Tropical Depression Twelve-E picked up speed, expanding from 23 km/hr to 39 km/hr, and continued connected its west-northwesterly way astir parallel to the coast.

The SMN has forecast dense rains for the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima and Michoacán arsenic the tempest moved wrong 350 kilometers of Manzanillo, Colima, and Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, to the northeast. 

Although Lorena is expected to dump sizeable rainfall connected those 4 states, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) projects the probable way of the tempest center to stay parallel to the seashore done Thursday earlier it slows and veers east. 

The storm’s maximum sustained winds reached 55 km/h astatine 8 a.m., with gusts of up to 75 km/h, and it was wrong 550 km of Cabo San Lucas, a edifice metropolis connected the confederate extremity of the Baja California Peninsula. 

An NHC bulletin warned that “additional strengthening is forecast during the adjacent 48 hours and Lorena could scope hurricane spot by Wednesday.” Conagua said Lorena mightiness not scope hurricane spot until Friday.

(NHC)

Lorena is expected to marque landfall halfway up the Baja California Peninsula precocious Friday night, but Conagua expects it to alteration to a tropical slump arsenic it crosses the Gulf of California and comes ashore successful Sonora.

Official coastal watches and warnings were successful effect by mid-morning Tuesday. 

The SMN said the storm’s outer bands would lash the Pacific Coast, dumping from 50 to 75 mm of rainfall connected Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima and Michoacán implicit the adjacent 24 hours, with dense rains reaching Baja California Sur by nightfall.

Lorena could beryllium accompanied by hail and electrical charges, according to the SMN regular report, generating puddles, landslides and flooding successful low-lying areas of the aforementioned states.

The SMN besides advised coastal areas to expect sustained winds of 40 km and gusts up to 70 km done aboriginal Wednesday. The tempest could besides disturbance up waves exceeding 3 meters.    

Maximum amounts of 12 inches of rainfall are imaginable crossed portions of Baja California Sur and southwestern Sonora done Friday, adding that perchance important flash flooding is simply a possibility.

Lorena is the 12th tropical tempest to signifier during the existent hurricane season, with 16 to 20 expected successful the Pacific and 13 to 17 successful the Atlantic.

With reports from Proceso, N+ and El Informador