Hurricane Central: Raymond

http://www.weather.com/news/weather-hurricanes/hurricane-raymond-mexico-acapulco-zihuatanejo-pacific-20131021

Hurricane Raymond Threatens Acapulco, Mexico with Heavy Rain

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Hurricane Stationary Over Coast

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Category 1 Hurricane Raymond remains stalled just off the Mexico coast as its winds decrease.

Raymond's slow and erratic motion is expected to continue the next day or so.

On Wednesday, a gradual turn to the west-southwest away from the Mexico coast is forecast to occur.

Due to Raymond's intensity and the uncertainties in its near-term track, hurricane warnings are in effect for the coast of southern Mexico, spanning from Tecpan de Galeana westward to Lazaro Cardenas. This includes the Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo metropolitan area. Additionally, hurricane watches and tropical storm warnings are in effect from Acapulco to Tecpan de Galeana.

Heavy rain is expected to be the main impact from Raymond. This rainfall could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides near and inland from the coast of Mexico, specifically the states of Guerrero and Michoacan. These areas were devastated by flooding and mudslides from Hurricane Manuel last month, killing over 100 people.

Acapulco reported 7.63 inches (194 mm) of rain in the 48-hour period ending at 7 a.m. CDT Tuesday.

In addition, tropical storm-force winds and hurricane-force winds are possible – though increasingly unlikely now – in the watch and warning areas along the coast. The strength of the winds will be dependent on how close the center of Raymond gets to the coast. This is uncertain since Raymond is moving very slowly and is expected to eventually turn back to the west away from Mexico. Additionally, Raymond is a very compact hurricane, with hurricane-force winds extending no more than 25 miles from the center as of Tuesday afternoon.

From Sunday morning into early Monday, Raymond rapidly intensified with top sustained winds increasing from 40 mph to 120 mph, becoming the first major hurricane of 2013 in the entire Western Hemisphere. Raymond peaked in intensity late Monday with top sustained winds of 125 mph, but has since weakened.