Mexico: Tropical Storm Pamela Could Become a Hurricane

Mexico’s National Meteorological Service (SMN) reported that tropical storm Pamela broke out on the Pacific coast on Sunday. The storm is expected to produce heavy rains in several States, and there are chances that it could become a hurricane.

RELATED: 

800 Migrants Found Inside Six Containers in Mexico

“On Sunday at 4:00 p.m., Central Mexico time, tropical storm Pamela emerged from Tropical Depression 16-E," SMN announced and forecasted that it would become a Category 1 hurricane on Monday.

Between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, when Pamela would make landfall on the Sinaloa coast, it could intensify to a Category 3 hurricane.

On Monday, Pamela was approximately 460 kilometers southwest of Playa Perula (Jalisco) and 790 km south of Mazatlan (Sinaloa). It had maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour (km/h), gusts of 100 km/h, and was moving towards the west-northwest at 19 km/h.

During the next few hours, this tropical cyclone will cause heavy rains in Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Durango, Colima, and Michoacan. It will also trigger wind gusts of up to 60 km/h and 1-2-meter-high swells on the Jalisco and Colima coasts. Rains caused by Pamela could result in landslides and an increase in the levels of rivers and streams, along with possible flooding.

The SMN urged the population to take precautions against rain, wind, and waves and comply with the recommendations issued by the National Civil Protection System (SNPC) authorities.

So far this year, as 15 cyclones formed in the Pacific Ocean, hurricanes Elsa, Grace, Henri, Ida, and Larry emerged in the Atlantic Ocean. Among them, Grace, Ida, and Larry reached the highest level of dangerousness (Category 3).