Hurricane Blanca remained a category 1 storm Friday evening as it approached to coast of Mexico, forecasters with the National Hurricane Center said. ADVERTISING Hurricane Blanca remained a category 1 storm Friday evening as it approached to coast of Mexico,
Hurricane Blanca remained a category 1 storm Friday evening as it approached to coast of Mexico, forecasters with the National Hurricane Center said.
Hurricane Blanca remained a category 1 storm Friday evening as it approached to coast of Mexico, forecasters with the National Hurricane Center said.
Hurricane Blanca, as of 5 p.m. Hawaii time, was packing 100 mph winds with higher gusts, and moving toward the northwest at about 10 mph. Described by forecasters as a “large hurricane,” Blanca’s hurricane-force winds extended outward from the center of the storm up to 45 miles and tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 195 miles.
The second named storm of the 2015 Eastern Pacific hurricane season was located about 330 miles south-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, forecasters said. That’s about 3,200 miles east of Kailua-Kona.
A tropical storm watch was issued Friday for a portion of the Mexico coast, from La Paz to Santa Fe, including Cabo San Lucas.
The hurricane was not expected to strengthen significantly Friday night into Saturday. Weakening is expected to begin tonight or early Sunday as the tropical cyclone enters a more hostile environment.
The storm should weaken to a tropical storm as it approaches the southern Baja California peninsula on Sunday. Forecasters said a tropical storm warning would likely be posted for a portion of the southern Baja California peninsula on Saturday morning. A warning is issued when tropical storm conditions are expected in a specified coastal area within 36 hours.
Swells generated by Blanca were already affecting the coast of southwestern Mexico, the Pacific coast of the Baja California peninsula and the southern Gulf of California on Friday. The swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions, forecasters cautioned.
In addition to Blanca, forecasters are also keeping tabs on an area of low pressure that is expected to form early next week a few hundred mile south or south-southeast of the Gulf of Tehuantepec. Forecasters gave it a 30 percent chance of forming into a tropical cyclone within five days.
Andres, the first named storm of the 2015 hurricane season, was downgraded to a remnant low on Thursday. National Hurricane Center forecasters are no longer issuing advisories on the weather system.
Meanwhile, the Central North Pacific basin, an area located north of the equator spanning from 140 degrees west longitude to the International Date Line, remained quiet Friday. Forecasters said no tropical cyclones were expected to form through Sunday afternoon.
Both the Central Pacific and Eastern Pacific hurricane seasons continue through Nov. 30.
Get more hurricane-related content, including preparation tips, evacuation information and daily tropical weather updates, sponsored by Clark Realty, at westhawaiitoday.com/hurricane-season-2015.
