Post by ocelot on Aug 30, 2006 10:17:16 GMT -5
Powerful Hurricane John Menaces Mexico Coast
Hurricane John became a deadly Category 4 storm Wednesday as it moved along Mexico's Pacific coast, threatening a tourist resort region that includes Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta.
The sixth named storm of the Eastern Pacific season, John is accompanied by winds of up to 215 km/h, said the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.
John was running parallel to the coast and was not expected to affect the United States. The forecast path would carry the storm out to sea below Los Cabos at the tip of the Baja California peninsula, but forecasters warned that track could vary.
"Any deviation to the right of track will bring hurricane-force winds to the coast within the warning area," said the centre.
While the storm is hovering roughly 200 kilometres off the coast, John's hurricane-force winds reach 85 km outward, while its tropical storm-force winds extend 220 kilometres from the centre.
Hurricane watches and warnings covered more than 640 km of Mexico's coastline from north of Acapulco to Cabo Corrientes, the southwestern tip on the bay that holds Puerto Vallarta.
A number of resort areas, including Acapulco, Ixtapa, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos, could be hit by heavy rains from the storm's outer bands.
In Acapulco, local fishermen were advised to remain on land as light rain and heavy clouds arrived Tuesday night.
As John was strengthening, another storm system was weakening on the other coast of North America.
Tropical storm Ernesto, the fifth named weather system of the Atlantic hurricane season, was expected to dwindle into a tropical depression as it moved north along the Florida coast later Wednesday.
Hurricane John became a deadly Category 4 storm Wednesday as it moved along Mexico's Pacific coast, threatening a tourist resort region that includes Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta.
The sixth named storm of the Eastern Pacific season, John is accompanied by winds of up to 215 km/h, said the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.
John was running parallel to the coast and was not expected to affect the United States. The forecast path would carry the storm out to sea below Los Cabos at the tip of the Baja California peninsula, but forecasters warned that track could vary.
"Any deviation to the right of track will bring hurricane-force winds to the coast within the warning area," said the centre.
While the storm is hovering roughly 200 kilometres off the coast, John's hurricane-force winds reach 85 km outward, while its tropical storm-force winds extend 220 kilometres from the centre.
Hurricane watches and warnings covered more than 640 km of Mexico's coastline from north of Acapulco to Cabo Corrientes, the southwestern tip on the bay that holds Puerto Vallarta.
A number of resort areas, including Acapulco, Ixtapa, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos, could be hit by heavy rains from the storm's outer bands.
In Acapulco, local fishermen were advised to remain on land as light rain and heavy clouds arrived Tuesday night.
As John was strengthening, another storm system was weakening on the other coast of North America.
Tropical storm Ernesto, the fifth named weather system of the Atlantic hurricane season, was expected to dwindle into a tropical depression as it moved north along the Florida coast later Wednesday.