Hurricane Beatriz to Bring Heavy Rains, Possible Landslide to Mexico's Pacific Coast

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced early Friday that tropical Storm Beatriz had developed into a Category 1 hurricane in the Pacific, and was likely to continue to strengthen off the Mexican coastline.

Meteorologists are presently carefully watching Hurricane Beatriz as it makes its way along the coastline of Mexico, near Lazaro Cardenas, about 70 miles southeast of Manzanillo.

An advisory notice issued by the NHC detailed parts of Mexico’s Pacific coast including areas from Zihuatanejo to Cabo Corrientes were being placed under a hurricane warning alert, as a hurricane watch was issued for north of Cabo Corrientes to Punta Mita.

At present, Hurricane Beatriz is trailing Hurricane Adrian, the region’s first cyclone to form this year and which has continued to move westward away from Mexico on Friday.

Labeled a Category 1 storm, Hurricane Beatriz is churning through southwestern Mexico with sustained winds measured at about 85 mile per hour (MPH) and a pressure of 992 millibars. It's currently making its way northwest at a speed of 13 MPH, according to the latest notice issued by the NHC.

Beatriz is expected to gain strength as its center moves near or over parts of southwestern Mexico on Saturday, but will lose speed as it tracks north, before slowing down on Monday as it turns away from the west-central coast of Mexico near Los Cabos.

Hurricane Beatriz carries with it a risk of flash flooding and landslides in areas with high terrain, as heavy rain is expected inland over southwest Mexico before the center of the hurricane eventually passes.

Beatriz-induced rainfall is expected to range from 3 to 5 inches, with a maximum isolated amount of 8 inches. The heavy rains are expected to fall across portions of southern and western Mexico from Guerrero northwest to Sinaloa and Durango.

Might as well check in on the EPac and look at what we got going on here…

Adrian is now a Category 2 with winds of 105mph, will stay out to sea and weaken over the next couple of days.
Beatriz is now a Hurricane expected to impact Mexico today and tonight.#tropics #weather pic.twitter.com/KssNqSh5QR

— Weather Track US (@weathertrackus) June 30, 2023

“Life-threatening surf and rip current conditions” could also be forecasted to spread northward along the southwestern coast of Mexico, the agency warned in its bulletin.

Hurricanes in the North American region are strengthening as El Nino develops into what will most likely be a significant event, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has warned.

The El Nino phenomenon can have wide-ranging effects across the globe, with trade winds, rainfall, flooding, wildfire risks, tropical cyclones, and even coral bleaching events being brought on by the climatic event.

Hurricane Beatriz and Adrian are a late start to the hurricane season for the Eastern Pacific, US meteorologists have reported, as the season typically begins on May 15.