Hurricane Rick headed for Mexico’s southern Pacific coast Sunday and is forecast to reach land by Monday.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Rick had winds as high as 85 miles per hour ( 140 kph) and was expected to hit somewhere around the seaport of Lazaro Cardenas and the resort of Zihuatanejo by Monday.
The hurricane was located about 130 miles (210 kilometers) south-southwest of Zihuatanejo. Rick was moving north at 3 mph (5.5 kph).
Some strengthening was expected and Rick could develop winds as high as 100 miles per hour (160 kph).
The center warned Rick could produce flash flooding and mudslides. The coast has mountainous terrain that in the past has been very vulnerable to flash flooding and mudslides.
A hurricane warning was in effect for points west of Acapulco all along the coast to Punta San Telmo.
“During its passage over land, it will cause intense torrential rains and possible mudslides and flooding, as well as rising levels in streams and rivers, in the states of Guerrero, Michoacan, Colima, and Jalisco,” Mexico’s National Water Commission said in a statement.
Rick will be the fifth Pacific named storm to make landfall in Mexico this year, and the sixth to cause damage in the country. The five Eastern Pacific named storm landfalls are the most in the nation since 2018, when six named storms hit. The five other 2021 Pacific named storms to do damage in Mexico:
- Hurricane Pamela made landfall as a category 1 storm with 75 mph winds 40 miles northwest of Mazatlán, Mexico, on October 13, killing two; damage estimates for the storm are not yet available. Pamela’s remnants swept into Texas, causing flooding that killed two people.
- Hurricane Olaf made landfall in Mexico’s Baja California Sur on September 9 as a category 2 storm, killing one and causing tens of millions of dollars in damage. Moisture from Olaf also brought flood damage to the states of Jalisco and Colima.
- Tropical Storm Dolores made landfall near the border of Mexico’s Michoacán and Colima states on June 19 with 70 mph winds, killing three and causing $50 million in damage.
- Category 1 Hurricane Enrique moved parallel to the southwestern coast of Mexico June 25-30, eventually dissipating in the Gulf of California without making landfall. Flooding from Enrique killed two and caused $50 million in damage.
- Hurricane Nora made landfall on August 28 in Mexico’s Jalisco state near Puerto Vallarta as a category 1 storm, killing three and causing $125 million in damage.
Source: yaleclimateconnections.org
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