Hurricane Olaf sets its eye on Mexico

courtesy of the weather channel | eTurboNews | eTN
Hurricane Olaf arriving-imagery courtesy of The Weather Channel
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Written by Linda S. Hohnholz

Hurricane Olaf is bringing its mighty winds and heavy rain to the Baja California peninsula in Mexico tonight where resorts are prolific in the area.

  1. According to the US National Hurricane Center, the hurricane-force winds of 105 miles per hour and downpouring rain up to 15 inches could last throughout the night.
  2. Hurricane Olaf is expected to head north-northwest and could strengthen before it hits the coastline.
  3. Ports have been temporarily closed and shelters opened. Businesses have boarded windows as people wait in line to buy groceries and supplies at supermarkets.

So if COVID-19 has done perhaps one good thing, it has caused most of the resorts to have less than 40% capacity of guests at the destination, who will shelter in place.

According to the US National Hurricane Center, the hurricane-force winds of 105 miles per hours and downpouring rain up to 15 inches could last throughout the night potentially causing flash flooding and mudslides.

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Ports have been temporarily closed and shelters opened. Businesses have boarded windows as people wait in line to buy groceries and supplies at supermarkets.

The President of the Los Cabos Hotels Association, Lilzi Orci, stated that 37 domestic and international airline flights were cancelled, and she estimated 20,000 foreign tourists were in the area.

As the night wears on, Hurricane Olaf is expected to head north-northwest and could strengthen before it hits the coastline.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Olaf is forecast to move very near or over the southern portion of Baja California Sur tonight and Friday. Hurricane conditions have begun within the southern portion of the hurricane warning area tonight and will spread northward through Friday.

Heavy rains associated with Olaf are expected across portions of southern Baja California Sur through Friday. This will pose a threat of significant and life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides.

Tweeted @MrsAmericaUSA:

“Olaf storm is definitely intensifying, waves crashing in close to @MontageLosCabos. Olaf massive swells and winds picking up.”

RECENT UPDATE

The most recent update on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration government agency website says:

Imagery from the Mexican radar at Cabo San Lucas, along with satellite imagery, indicates that the eye of Olaf is about to make landfall near San Jose del Cabo, and that hurricane conditions in the northwestern eyewall have already spread onshore.

The eyewall cloud tops have cooled during the past few hours, and the objective intensity estimate from the CIMSS ADT technique has increased to 90 kt. Based on this and an increase in the organization of the eyewall on the Cabo radar imagery, the initial intensity is increased to 85 kt.

@iCyclone Tweet:

“… around 7:40 pm in San Jose del Cabo, when it started to really rip, but before the power went out.”

The initial motion is 325/10. Olaf should continue moving northwestward to north-northwestward for the next 12-24 hours, with the center moving near or over the southern portion of the Baja California peninsula during this time. After that, a mid-level ridge extending westward from the southwestern United States should cause Olaf to turn westward, and this should be followed by a southwestward motion as the weakening cyclone becomes steered by low-level northeasterly flow.

The forecast guidance has changed little since the previous advisory, and the new forecast track has only minor adjustments from the previous forecast.

A gradual weakening is expected during the first 24 hours as Olaf interacts with the Baja California peninsula. When the cyclone turns westward after 24 hours, it should move over colder water and into a drier air mass. This combination should cause the convection to decay, with the system becoming a post-tropical low by 60 hours and a remnant low by 72 hours. The new intensity forecast has some minor changes from the previous forecast, and it lies in the middle of the intensity guidance envelope.

Mexico has been having a rough go of it lately. Just 2 days ago, a 7.1 earthquake struck Acapulco.

About the author

Avatar of Linda S. Hohnholz

Linda S. Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz has been an editor for eTurboNews for many years. She is in charge of all premium content and press releases.

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