Hurricane Max Updates: Weather Disturbance Expected to Dissipate Today
Despite initially thought to bring life-threatening flash floods, Hurricane Max is now expected to dissipate today, Friday, Sept. 15.
Hurricane Max was earlier reported to have the potential to dump heavy amount of rain that can cause massive and life-threatening flash floods. However, after it slammed into Mexico's southern Pacific coast yesterday, Sept. 14, Hurricane Max has now been downgraded to a tropical storm and is expected to dissipate early today, Sept. 15.
According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, Max is rapidly weakening. The now former hurricane packed a maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (70 kph) and was located about 80 miles (130 kilometers) when it hit east of Acapulco Thursday night, and was heading toward the east at 7 mph (11 kph).
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Acapulco, which is about 30 miles (60 kilometers) from where the hurricane made a landfall, experienced strong winds and rain that ravaged some branches on the city's coastal boulevard.
AccuWeather said that the mountainous terrain along its path is the reason Max rapidly weakened. Despite weakening, though, Max can still cause flooding because of the tropical moisture that follows it.
The state of Guerrero, including Acapulco, is at the greater risk of flooding today, which can be as high as six inches.
The possible flooding that follows Max is not the only thing Mexicans have to watch out for. While Max is already expected to dissipate early today, just northwest is Norma, which has already reached the tropical storm status yesterday morning.
"Norma is likely to become a hurricane as it churns in the warm waters of the East Pacific. While the track is not set in stone, it could move northward toward the Baja Peninsula or western Mexico late in the weekend," said AccuWeather meteorologist Steve D. Travis.
While it remains unclear whether Norma will make a landfall, Accuweather said there is still a possibility for the southern and western coasts of the Baja to experience rough surf and rip currents into next week even if it does not.
