×

Hurricane Norma Heads For Mexican Resort

Hurricane Norma was bearing down on Mexico’s Baja California coastline Saturday and was expected to pass near the popular tourist area by Sunday or Monday … Continue reading Hurricane Norma Heads For Mexican Resort


This satellite image obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Max (R) and Tropical Storm Norma on September 14, 2017, at 2045UTC. Jose ROMERO/ NOAA/RAMMB/AFP
This satellite image obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Max (R) and Tropical Storm Norma on September 14, 2017, at 2045UTC. Jose ROMERO/ NOAA/RAMMB/AFP

Hurricane Norma was bearing down on Mexico’s Baja California coastline Saturday and was expected to pass near the popular tourist area by Sunday or Monday on its present course, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

As of 1 pm Eastern Time (1800 GMT), the storm was some 240 miles (385 kilometers) south of Los Cabos, packing maximum sustained winds of 75 miles (125 kilometers) per hour and pushing north at two miles (four kilometers) an hour.

It triggered tropical storm warnings, meaning tropical storm conditions within 36 hours for parts of the peninsula, as the NHC forecast up to 20 inches of rain in isolated pockets which “may produce life-threatening flash floods.”

Another storm, Max, which made landfall on Mexico’s Pacific coast as a Category One hurricane on Thursday night but was later downgraded, had largely dissipated as of Saturday.

It had threatened southern parts of the country including the state of Oaxaca which is still struggling to recover after it bore the brunt of the damage from the 8.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Mexico only last Thursday.

Last week, Hurricane Katia battered the Atlantic coast of Mexico and later blew itself out in the center of the country without causing major damage.

At the beginning of September, Tropical Storm Lidia left seven people dead on its stormy passage through the state of Baja California.

Mexico is one of the countries most vulnerable to hurricanes because of its thousands of miles of coastline on both the Atlantic and Pacific and its proximity to the hurricane belt.

AFP