Trudy weakens to Category 1 but still threatens Mexico's Pacific coast
Hurricane Trudy weakened to a Category 1 storm on Friday, hours after it was a Category 3, EFE and the AP reported. A hurricane hunter plane found top winds near 85 mph, the U.S. hurricane center said. Heavy rain is still expected in Colima, Jalisco and Michoacán this weekend, the center said.
Hurricane Trudy weakened to a Category 1 storm on Friday, Mexico's National Meteorological Service said after data came in from a U.S. hurricane hunter plane, EFE reported. The downgrade came hours after Trudy reached Category 3 overnight and then Category 2 around midday, EFE reported. The AP also reported the downgrade, citing the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Tribuna de la Bahía, a Puerto Vallarta newspaper, reported it too, citing Mexico's National Water Commission.
An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft found top sustained winds near 85 mph (140 km/h), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its 5 p.m. ET advisory. Trudy was about 225 miles southwest of Acapulco, moving north-northwest at 5 mph. Slight strengthening is possible Saturday and Saturday night, and the center is forecast to pass near the coast of southwestern and west-central Mexico Saturday night into Sunday, the advisory said.
Mexico extended its hurricane warning north from Playa Perula to Cabo Corrientes, the advisory said. The warning now covers the coast from Manzanillo north to Cabo Corrientes. A hurricane watch runs from Manzanillo south to Punta San Telmo, a tropical storm warning from Manzanillo south to Zihuatanejo, and a tropical storm watch north of Cabo Corrientes to San Blas.
Earlier Friday, Trudy had rapidly strengthened, with top winds near 120 mph (195 km/h), Reuters reported. Fabián Vázquez, head of Mexico's weather service, warned at the president's morning news conference that Trudy could reach Category 4 before nearing Colima and Jalisco on Sunday, EFE reported. President Claudia Sheinbaum urged people in areas under alert to follow Civil Protection advice and go to temporary shelters if they live in risky areas or near rivers, EFE and Reforma reported.
The hurricane center forecast 4 to 8 inches of rain through the weekend in Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco, with isolated totals near 15 inches, which could cause life-threatening floods and mudslides. Mexico's weather service warned that the rain could cause landslides, rising rivers and flooding in low-lying areas, EFE reported.
What we know: Trudy is now a Category 1 hurricane with 85 mph winds, and a hurricane warning covers Mexico's coast from Manzanillo to Cabo Corrientes.
What we don't: Whether Trudy will strengthen again before it nears the coast, and how much damage its rain and wind will cause.
Where outlets agree EFE and the AP both report that Trudy weakened to a Category 1 hurricane on Friday based on data from a U.S. hurricane hunter plane, after being a Category 3 storm earlier in the day.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.