Mexico Lifts Hurricane 'Warning' to a 'Watch' as Tropical Storm Carlos Appears to Lessen
MEXICO - The hurricane warning for Tropical Storm Carlos, about 180 miles southeast of Manzanillo, Mexico, has lifted, but a watch continues to remain in effect along the Pacific coast of Mexico.
Until about 10 a.m. central time this morning, a hurricane warning was in effect east of Lazaro Cardenas, including Ixtapa, Zihuatanejo and Acapulco.
According to The Weather Channel, Carlos brought 30 mph winds to Acapulco, Mexico, with a peak of wind speed of 43 mph, and a hurricane watch continues west of Putno San Telmo to Playa Perula, including Manzanillo. A tropical storm warning is also in effect from Lazaro Cardenas to Punta San Telmo.
Carlos appears to have weakened since it was named last Thursday, having formed as a Tropical Depression Three-E, and is moving slowly parallel with the Mexican Pacific coast instead of touching the land. According to the report, however, Carlos’s small wind field would bring stronger core winds from the storm to land.
For now it looks like Carlos may shift to the north-northwest, which could move toward the Jalisco and Nayarit state coastline by Wednesday, going into early Thursday. While the Weather Channel reports that if Carlos does restrengthen it’s not expected to be significant. Rainfall is expected through late Wednesday that could total from 6 to 10 inches in southwest Mexico and locally higher amounts of up to 15 inches. This amount of water could bring dangerous flash-floods and mudslides, particularly in mountain terrain.
According to The Weather Channel, Tropical Storm Carlos is the second earliest third hurricane occurrence on record for the eastern Pacific, making this a busy beginning to the hurricane season.