Hurricane Trudy hits 155 km/h as it nears Mexico’s coast

Hurricane Trudy strengthened to maximum sustained winds of 155 km/h on Saturday evening as its centre moved to within about 160 km of Manzanillo, on Mexico’s west-central Pacific coast, and the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the storm would pass near the coast overnight into Sunday, Oct. 18.

The storm has gained about 15 km/h since Friday, when it was a Category 1 hurricane with 140 km/h winds, and the NHC warned of up to 300 millimetres of rain in parts of Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco.

The centre was near 17.9 N, 105.3 W at 6 p.m. local time Saturday, moving northwest at 17 km/h, with a minimum central pressure of 976 millibars, the NHC said in its intermediate advisory 18A. Hurricane-force winds extend up to 55 km from the centre and tropical-storm-force winds up to 220 km.

A hurricane warning covers the coast from Manzanillo north to Cabo Corrientes. A hurricane watch is in effect south of Manzanillo to Punta San Telmo. Tropical storm warnings cover the coast south of Manzanillo to Lázaro Cárdenas, north of Cabo Corrientes to San Blas, and the Islas Marías.

Rainfall of 100 to 200 millimetres is forecast along the coast of Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco, with isolated totals near 300 millimetres, the NHC said. Outer bands could bring 50 to 100 millimetres to Guerrero and Nayarit. The agency warned of dangerous storm surge with damaging waves and life-threatening surf and rip currents.

Reuters, in a report published Saturday, said Mexico’s national water commission, Conagua, classified Trudy as a Category 2 hurricane. The wire service said the NHC warned of “life-threatening flooding and landslides,” especially on steep terrain. Its position for the storm, about 185 km south-southwest of Manzanillo, was from an earlier update than the advisory above. No damage, casualty or evacuation figures had been published in either source.

The NHC said some additional strengthening is possible overnight, with weakening expected to begin late Sunday or Sunday night. Its Friday outlook had the storm fading to a remnant low around Wednesday, Oct. 21.

For Canadians, the Government of Canada’s travel advisory for Mexico, last updated Oct. 16, tells travellers to avoid non-essential travel on the west-central coast from north of Punta San Telmo to Cabo Corrientes because of the hurricane. It says the storm could disrupt airports, power, water, communications and medical care, and it urges travellers to follow local authorities, including any evacuation orders.

The advisory is separate from long-standing warnings against non-essential travel to much of Colima and Michoacán and parts of Jalisco because of violence and organized crime. Canadians in the region can register through the Government of Canada’s Registration of Canadians Abroad service and check their airline’s waiver page. Our earlier report covers the Canadian advisory and airline notices.

The NHC’s next full advisory was due at 9 p.m. local time Saturday. This story is developing, and figures may change as new advisories are issued.

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Via the U.S. National Hurricane Center and Reuters. Travel advice from the Government of Canada.