Hurricane Trudy brought powerful winds and torrential rain to Mexico’s Pacific coast on Sunday, with authorities warning of life-threatening flooding and mudslides in parts of Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco.
The National Hurricane Center said hurricane and tropical storm conditions could develop in areas under weather alerts during Sunday morning and afternoon. A hurricane warning was in force from Manzanillo in Colima to Cabo Corrientes in Jalisco.
Trudy had maximum sustained winds of 105mph, making it a Category 2 hurricane, according to the centre’s latest update. The storm had briefly strengthened into a major Category 3 hurricane while approaching Mexico late last week, but had since weakened.
Its centre was about 135 miles west-south-west of Manzanillo on Sunday and moving north-west at 10mph. Forecasters expected the system to remain near the Mexican coast through the evening before moving south of the Baja California Peninsula.
The storm was expected to produce between four and eight inches of rain, with isolated totals of about 12 inches along and near the coast in Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco. Areas with steep terrain were considered particularly vulnerable to severe flooding and mudslides.
The Mexican Navy urged mariners and people living along the coast to exercise extreme caution because of high waves, heavy rain and the risk of rising rivers, flooding and landslides.
Authorities in Colima said the immediate risks remained low but warned that further heavy rain could cause damage because the ground had already been saturated by successive storms along the Pacific coast.
A tropical storm warning remained in effect for Las Islas Marias, while an earlier warning covering the coast from east of Punta San Telmo to Lazaro Cardenas was discontinued.
