Hurricane Erick Makes Category 3 Mexico Landfall With Life-Threatening Flooding, High Winds
Erick rapidly intensified from a 40 mph tropical storm Tuesday morning to Cat 4 intensity at midnight Thursday morning. Six hours later, Erick made landfall in extreme western Oaxaca state east of Punta Maldonado as a Cat 3 with 125 mph winds, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Erick became the first Eastern Pacific major hurricane on record to landfall in Mexico prior to August, in records dating to the late 1950s. The previous earliest major hurricane to landfall in western Mexico from the Pacific side was Kiko, on Aug. 26, 1989, in the southern Baja Peninsula, according to NOAA records.
(MORE: What Is Rapid Intensification?)
Erick became the Eastern Pacific's second hurricane of the season early Wednesday morning, almost four weeks ahead of the season's average second hurricane pace. The season's fifth storm has historically formed by July 23, based on the 1991-2020 average.
-Alerts: Hurricane warnings are posted for parts of Mexico's Guerrero and Oaxaca states, including Acapulco. Hurricane watches and tropical storm warnings extend to the west and east of this hurricane warning, as shown in the map below.
(MORE: Rating Hurricanes With The Saffir-Simpson Scale)
-Timing, Intensity: Now inland, Erick is expected to weaken rapidly and dissipate by late tonight or early Friday, but will still lash parts of southern Mexico the rest of the day.
-Surge, Wind Impacts: Erick's worst storm surge and devastating wind impacts will be along and just east of where the center comes ashore in parts of western Oaxaca and eastern Guerrero states. Those greatest threats will be east of Acapulco, but strong wind gusts are also possible in the city, particularly over higher terrain.
(MORE: Atlantic Hurricane Season Could Go '0 For June.' Does That Matter?)
-Heavy Rain A More Widespread Threat: The heaviest totals of 8 to 12 inches, with locally up to 16 inches possible, are forecast in the Oaxaca and Guerrero states. Life-threatening flash flooding is likely and mudslides are a threat in the mountainous terrain near this coast.
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