Hurricane Erick has formed in the Pacific. It could bring rain, humidity to California
Tropical Storm Erick in the Pacific has officially strengthened into Hurricane Erick and is expected to bring "life-threatening flash floods" to portions of southern Mexico Wednesday night and Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The hurricane center said Wednesday morning the storm, the second hurricane of the Pacific season, was located about 160 miles south-southeast of Puerto Angel, Mexico with maximum sustained winds of about 75 mph with higher gusts.
Hurricane center forecasters said "rapid strengthening" is expected Wednesday, and the system may reach "major hurricane strength" when it approaches the coast of southern Mexico Thursday. The center of Erick is expected to approach the southern coast of Mexico late Wednesday and move inland or be near the coast on Thursday.
Forecasters said Erick's wind speeds could reach 111 mph if strengthening occurs as forecast, which would make it a Category 3 hurricane on the Shaffir Simpson wind speed scale.
Hurricane Erick, like most Eastern Pacific hurricanes, is unlikely to directly impact California in terms of strong winds or a direct landfall. However, according to forecasters, it could still indirectly affect Southern California by causing high surf, rip tides, humid conditions, and sometimes thunderstorms in inland or mountain areas.
Erick is forecast to produce rainfall totals of 8 to 16 inches, with maximum totals of 20 inches, across the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Guerrero. The rainfall will lead to "life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain," the hurricane center said Wednesday. Additionally, rainfall totals between 3 to 8 inches are expected across the Mexican states of Chiapas, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco.
The hurricane center said swells generated by Erick are expected to begin affecting the southern coast of Mexico later Wednesday, and these swells are "likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions."
A hurricane warning is in effect for Acapulco to Puerto Angel, while a hurricane watch is in effect for west of Acapulco to Tecpan de Galeana, as well as east of Puerto Angel to Bahias de Huatulco. A tropical storm warning is in effect for east of Puerto Angel to Salina Cruz.
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This forecast track shows the most likely path of the center of the storm. It does not illustrate the full width of the storm or its impacts, and the center of the storm is likely to travel outside the cone up to 33% of the time.
Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center uses only the top four or five highest-performing models to help make its forecasts.
Hurricanes are born in the tropics, above warm water. Clusters of thunderstorms can develop over the ocean when water temperatures exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit. If conditions are right, the clusters swirl into a storm known as a tropical wave or tropical depression.
A tropical depression becomes a named tropical storm once its sustained wind speeds reaches 39 miles per hour. When its winds reach 74 mph, the storm officially becomes a hurricane.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Hurricane Erick forms in the Pacific: See path, California impacts
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The Hill
an hour ago
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Here's why Hurricane Erick is quickly strengthening into dangerous storm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Having doubled in strength in less than a day and still expected to grow further, Hurricane Erick on Wednesday chugged through the ideal environment to power up quickly as it approached Mexico's southern Pacific Coast. This type of rapid intensification has become more common in a warmer climate, especially in the Atlantic and near the United States, which is not where Erick is now, scientists said. Last year, there were 34 incidents of rapid intensification — when a storm gains at least 35 mph in 24 hours — which is about twice as many as average and causes problems with forecasting, according to the National Hurricane Center. Erick, an otherwise run-of-the-mill hurricane that's strong but not unusual, gained 50 mph in just 18 hours and was still powering up as it neared the coast. The only thing that's unusual so far is that this is the fifth eastern Pacific storm a month into the season there, which is a little more active than normal, said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy. And it's likely that when Erick hits, it will be the strongest storm to make landfall in that part of Mexico this early in the season, he said. On average, the fifth named storm first appears in the Eastern Pacific basin around July 23, according to the hurricane center. The Eastern Pacific hurricane season, which starts May 15 and runs through Nov. 30, averages 15 named storms, eight of which become hurricanes with four of those reaching major status of winds more than 110 mph (177 kph). In general, the eastern Pacific tends to have about one storm a year more than the Atlantic. But Atlantic storms tend to cause more destruction because they hit more populated areas. Because of where Erik is headed — nearing Acapulco — and its rapid intensification, the storm brings back bad memories of deadly Otis, which seemed to come from out of nowhere to smack Mexico with a top-of-the-scale Category 5 hurricane in 2023. But Erick is no Otis, especially because of their timing. Erick is an early-season storm and Otis hit in October. Forming in October, Otis grew stronger by churning up deeper and warmer water because it was later in the year. Erick is early in the year and the deep water it would churn up is cooler and doesn't fuel rapid intensification. Even so, the surface water is plenty hot enough, said MIT hurricane scientist Kerry Emanuel. All the ingredients are otherwise perfect for Erick's power-up, said University at Albany atmospheric scientist Kristen Corbosiero. Dry air often stops rapid intensification, but Erick hasn't run into dry air and the atmosphere around it is extremely moist, she said. It's got a good stormy eye forming and has what would be the ideal shape of a strengthening storm, she said. Studies have linked human-caused climate change in general to more bouts of rapid intensification, as well as wetter and slower storms, Corbosiero said. But it would take more study, usually after the storm hits, to find any potential link between global warming and Erick in particular, if there is one, she said. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Here's why Hurricane Erick is quickly strengthening into dangerous storm
WASHINGTON — Having doubled in strength in less than a day and still expected to grow further, Hurricane Erick on Wednesday chugged through the ideal environment to power up quickly as it approached Mexico's southern Pacific Coast. This type of rapid intensification has become more common in a warmer climate , especially in the Atlantic and near the United States , which is not where Erick is now, scientists said. Last year, there were 34 incidents of rapid intensification — when a storm gains at least 35 mph in 24 hours — which is about twice as many as average and causes problems with forecasting, according to the National Hurricane Center.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Here's why Hurricane Erick is quickly strengthening into dangerous storm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Having doubled in strength in less than a day and still expected to grow further, Hurricane Erick on Wednesday chugged through the ideal environment to power up quickly as it approached Mexico's southern Pacific Coast. This type of rapid intensification has become more common in a warmer climate, especially in the Atlantic and near the United States, which is not where Erick is now, scientists said. Last year, there were 34 incidents of rapid intensification — when a storm gains at least 35 mph in 24 hours — which is about twice as many as average and causes problems with forecasting, according to the National Hurricane Center. Erick, an otherwise run-of-the-mill hurricane that's strong but not unusual, gained 50 mph in just 18 hours and was still powering up as it neared the coast. The only thing that's unusual so far is that this is the fifth eastern Pacific storm a month into the season there, which is a little more active than normal, said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy. And it's likely that when Erick hits, it will be the strongest storm to make landfall in that part of Mexico this early in the season, he said. On average, the fifth named storm first appears in the Eastern Pacific basin around July 23, according to the hurricane center. The Eastern Pacific hurricane season, which starts May 15 and runs through Nov. 30, averages 15 named storms, eight of which become hurricanes with four of those reaching major status of winds more than 110 mph (177 kph). In general, the eastern Pacific tends to have about one storm a year more than the Atlantic. But Atlantic storms tend to cause more destruction because they hit more populated areas. Because of where Erik is headed — nearing Acapulco — and its rapid intensification, the storm brings back bad memories of deadly Otis, which seemed to come from out of nowhere to smack Mexico with a top-of-the-scale Category 5 hurricane in 2023. But Erick is no Otis, especially because of their timing. Erick is an early-season storm and Otis hit in October. Forming in October, Otis grew stronger by churning up deeper and warmer water because it was later in the year. Erick is early in the year and the deep water it would churn up is cooler and doesn't fuel rapid intensification. Even so, the surface water is plenty hot enough, said MIT hurricane scientist Kerry Emanuel. All the ingredients are otherwise perfect for Erick's power-up, said University at Albany atmospheric scientist Kristen Corbosiero. Dry air often stops rapid intensification, but Erick hasn't run into dry air and the atmosphere around it is extremely moist, she said. It's got a good stormy eye forming and has what would be the ideal shape of a strengthening storm, she said. Studies have linked human-caused climate change in general to more bouts of rapid intensification, as well as wetter and slower storms, Corbosiero said. But it would take more study, usually after the storm hits, to find any potential link between global warming and Erick in particular, if there is one, she said. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
