Mexico assesses damage from Hurricane Erick as rising rivers leave at least 1 dead
ACAPULCO, Mexico — Authorities in southern Mexico were still assessing damage and watching rising rivers as rain from the remnants of Hurricane Erick doused the region.
Torrential rains over steep coastal mountains and the landslides and flooding they could generate became ongoing concern for officials after Erick dissipated following a landfall early Thursday on a sparsely populated stretch of coast.
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Yahoo
31 minutes ago
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National Hurricane Center tracking 4 tropical waves. Dangerous heat expected in Florida
A day after surging to Category 4 status and then hitting Mexico on June 19 as a powerful Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, Erick has dropped down to a low-pressure area in the Pacific, according to the National Hurricane Center. Erick made landfall between Acapulco and the resort town Puerto Escondido early Thursday morning, the Associated Press reported, leaving damaged roads, localized flooding, widespread power outages and at least one person dead, a 1-year-old child whose mother had attempted to cross a swollen river. In the Atlantic basin, the early days of the 2025 hurricane season remain quiet. The National Hurricane Center is monitoring four tropical waves, including one in the eastern Caribbean. The first named storm in the Atlantic basin will be Andrea. ➤ Track all active storms ➤ Weather alerts via text: Sign up to get updates about current storms and weather events by location Temperatures are expected to remain hot in Florida through the weekend, with the heat index reaching as high as 110 in some locations. Here's the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center as of 7 a.m. June 20. Before striking Mexico, Erick doubled in strength in less than a day. Last year there were 34 incidents of rapid intensification — when a storm gains at least 35 mph in 24 hours — including the two storms that ravaged Florida. Hurricane Helene spun up from a tropical storm to a Category 4 monster in two days, and Hurricane Milton roared into a Category 5 from a tropical storm within just 24 hours. That's nearly twice as many as the average of the past 10 years, the NHC said. Such rapid changes make forecasting challenging and can leave residents unprepared. "Rapid intensification occurs when a tropical storm or hurricane encounters an extremely conducive environment," Colorado State University meteorologist Phil Klotzbach said in 2020. "Typically, this environment consists of very warm water, low vertical wind shear and high levels of mid-level moisture." The National Hurricane Center is monitoring four tropical waves in the Atlantic basin. Tropical wave 1: A far eastern Atlantic tropical wave has its axis near 21W from 4N to 15N. It is moving westward at 6 to 12 mph. Tropical wave 2: An eastern Atlantic tropical wave has its axis near 37W from 05N to 16N, moving westward at an estimated speed of 17 mph. Tropical wave 3: A central Atlantic tropical wave has its axis near 52W from 04N to 16N, moving westward at 12 to 17 mph. Tropical wave 4: A central Caribbean tropical wave has its axis near 74W south of 17N to inland Colombia. It is moving westward at around 17 mph. Isolated showers and thunderstorms are near the wave axis. "The average first named storm in the Atlantic is June 20, but development over the central and eastern basin looks unfavorable through June at this time," said Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather lead hurricane expert. "There is some dust moving through the Caribbean right now but most of it will stay south and west of Florida. Some will move into Texas and Louisiana late this week," DaSilva said. The next plume of dust that could impact South Florida may arrive around June 27 and could last a few days, DaSilva said via email. "The dust set to arrive in Florida in around 10 days could be comparable to the dust that went through Florida recently, however since it is still 10 days away and still over Africa, the dust concentration is still subject to change as it moves across the Atlantic." "Strong wind shear and an abundance of Saharan dust is helping to protect Florida," DaSilva said. There are "no concerns in the Atlantic for at least the next seven days. There is too much dry air and the wind shear is too high," DaSilva said. "If anything develops in June it would likely be in the Bay of Campeche or far western Caribbean, where the shear is a little lower." "The average first named storm in the Atlantic is June 20 and the average first hurricane is Aug. 11. It is not really that unusual for the start of the season to be quiet. Water temperatures and ocean heat content remain very high in the Gulf. "I think once we get more into the heart of the season, things could get very active. Expect a second-half loaded season. Dry air, including associated Saharan dust, along with wind shear, both prevent tropical systems from developing or strengthening, essentially cutting off the fuel storms need. Pensacola, western Panhandle: A 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 4pm. Sunny, with a high near 90. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Tallahassee, central Panhandle:A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 4pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Heat index values as high as 102. Calm wind. Jacksonville, North/Northeast Florida: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. Heat index values as high as 103. West wind 6 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Daytona Beach to Stuart, East/Central Florida: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming east southeast in the afternoon. Orlando: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 5pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming south southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. West Palm Beach to Naples, South/Southwest Florida: West Palm Beach: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between 2pm and 4pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. Light and variable wind becoming southeast 6 to 11 mph in the morning. Naples: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Heat index values as high as 100. Calm wind becoming west 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Fort Myers to Sarasota, West/Southwest Florida: Scattered showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 11am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. Heat index values as high as 98. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. High near 86, with heat index as high as 99 in Sarasota. Among the changes the National Hurricane Center announced for the 2025 hurricane season was the addition of a rip current risk map. ➤ National Hurricane Center lays out changes coming for 2025 season. See what to expect This new addition provided by the Hurricane Center will be provided for the current day, the next day, and as a composite showing the highest risk over both days for areas along the East and Gulf coasts of the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the coast of southern California. ➤ Florida ranks in top 5 states where swimming is most dangerous. How to avoid summer tragedy The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Ninety-seven percent of tropical cyclone activity occurs during this time period, NOAA said. The Atlantic basin includes the northern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of America, as the Gulf of Mexico is now known in the U.S. per an order from President Trump. NOAA and the National Hurricane Center are now using Gulf of America on its maps and in its advisories. The peak of the season is Sept. 10, with the most activity happening between mid-August and mid-October, according to the Hurricane Center. Hurricane season starts June 1 in the Atlantic basin. Systems currently being monitored by the National Hurricane Center include: Tropical cyclone is the generic term used by the National Weather Service, NOAA and the National Hurricane Center for any tropical system, even if it's in the tropical Atlantic basin. To be more precise, a tropical cyclone is a "rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has closed, low-level circulation," NOAA sadi. Once maximum sustained winds reach 74 mph, what it is called is determined by where it originated: : for storms in the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and eastern North Pacific. : for storms in the Northwest Pacific. : for storms in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean. We will update our tropical weather coverage daily. Download your local site's app to ensure you're always connected to the news. And look for our special subscription offers here. This story was updated to add new information. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida heat wave here as NHC tracks 4 tropical waves. Erick fades
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Flooding and rock slides close heavily damaged I-40 section in Smoky Mountains
HARTFORD, Tenn. (AP) — Heavy rain, flooding and a rock slide have again closed a section of the major cross country highway Interstate 40 along its narrow corridor through the Great Smoky Mountains with engineers expecting the road closed for at least two weeks. The slide and flood happened Wednesday afternoon around mile marker 450 in Tennessee, just to the west of the state line with North Carolina, the Tennessee Department of Transportation said on social media. Engineers have found significant damage on both the highway and nearby ramps which was more extensive than originally thought, Republican Tennessee Rep. Jeremy Faison said on social media. 'Several areas remain under water, and there are potentially compromised slopes. Geotechnical engineers are on-site today to assess the stability of those slopes,' wrote Faison, who represents the area. Tennessee transportation officials estimate it will take at least two weeks to drain the water, make sure the slopes are safe and repair the highway. The damaged section is part of 12 miles (19 kilometers) of I-40 in North Carolina and Tennessee that was washed away or heavily damaged by flooding that roared through the Pigeon River gorge during Hurricane Helene in late September. Crews repaired and shored up enough of the old highway to open one narrow lane in each direction in March. The lanes are separated by a curb several inches high that had to be removed to let vehicles stuck by the flooding and rockslide to turn around and go the other way. About 2.5 to 3.5 inches (63 mm to 89 mm) of rain fell in the area over about three hours, according to the National Weather Service. The permanent fix to stabilize what's left of the road will involve driving long steel rods into bedrock below the road, filling them with grout and spraying concrete on the cliff face to hold them in place. It will take years. I-40 runs from Wilmington. North Carolina to Barstow, California, and any detour around the Great Smoky Mountain section is dozens of miles. Trucks have gotten stuck on twisty narrow mountain roads and are banned on another major highway through the area U.S. 441 through Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The official detour takes drivers heading east on I-40 up Interstate 26 at Asheville, North Carolina, to Johnson City, Tennessee, and then south down Interstate 81 back to I-40.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
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Erick makes landfall as a Category 3 hurricane, the strongest to hit Mexico so early in the year
Hurricane Erick slammed into Mexico's Oaxaca state as a dangerous Category 3 storm Thursday morning, unleashing powerful winds at the coast while spreading heavy rain over the region. The hurricane made landfall about 20 miles east of Punta Maldonado, Mexico, just after 6 a.m. CDT Thursday, according to NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Winds of 125 mph were roaring around its center at landfall. The storm came ashore about 100 miles east of Acapulco, the city devastated by Hurricane Otis in October 2023. Erick is the first major hurricane – Category 3 or greater – on record to hit Mexico before July. The hurricane maxed out as a ferocious Category 4 storm with 145 mph winds just off the coast in the earliest hours of Thursday morning. It underwent extreme rapid intensification from Tuesday night into Wednesday night, strengthening from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane in just 24 hours. Rapid intensification is becoming more frequent in a world warming due to fossil fuel pollution. Erick is deteriorating quickly as it tracks through Mexico's steep mountains and should dissipate by early Friday. It was already a Category 1 hurricane a few hours after landfall. Despite that, it will drop a troubling amount of rain in a short period that could cause dangerous flooding. The East Pacific hurricane season has been very busy since it began in mid-May. Erick is already the fifth named storm of the season – storms are named when they reach at least tropical storm-strength – and the second hurricane. The basin doesn't typically have its second hurricane until mid-July, according to NOAA. The Atlantic hurricane season is also underway, but has yet to churn out its first named storm and there's little prospect for it in the next few days. Heavy rain and wind was impacting the coasts of Guerrero and Oaxaca, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday morning, adding damage reports are still pending. She urged residents to remain at home and follow authorities' instructions. On Wednesday night, Sheinbaum said all activities in the region in Erick's path were suspended, the Associated Press reported. Acapulco's port closed Tuesday evening. Guerrero state Gov. Evelyn Salgado said all movement in Acapulco and other beach communities was to be suspended at 8 p.m. Wednesday in a post on X, and schools across the state were to remain closed through Thursday. Salgado said 582 shelters were set to receive people who might evacuate their homes across Guerrero. Laura Velázquez, Mexico's national civil defense coordinator, said Erick was forecast to bring 'torrential' rains to Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas states, according to the AP. The mountainous region along the southern coast is especially prone to mudslides with numerous rivers at risk of flooding. Nearly 16 inches of rain could fall through the end of the week in some portions of Guerrero's mountainous terrain, according to the NHC. This could trigger life-threatening flooding or mudslides. Up to 8 inches of rain is possible in the same timeframe for coastal areas of Oaxaca and Guerrero. Acapulco could record up to 6 inches of rain from Erick, but is not facing the hurricane's most powerful winds. Tropical storm-force gusts up to 45 mph are possible in the area Thursday. In Acapulco on Wednesday, there was a strong presence of National Guard and police in the streets, but most visible were trucks from the national power company, the AP reported. Crews worked to clear drainage canals and brush. The memory of Hurricane Otis haunted some residents as they prepared for Erick. Otis underwent some of the most extreme rapid intensification on record and strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane just before landfall. Carlos Ozuna Romero, 51, lost his restaurant at the edge of an Acapulco beach when Otis slammed the resort with devastating winds, he told the AP. On Wednesday, he directed workers storing tables and chairs. 'Authorities' warnings fill us with fear and obviously make us remember everything we've already been through,' Ozuna Romero said in reference to Otis. CNN Meteorologist Monica Garrett contributed to this report.
