A hurricane warning was issued Wednesday for parts of the Mexican Baja California Peninsula as Hurricane Genevieve approached the west coast of the country.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami said Hurricane Genevieve now has maximum sustained winds of 115 mph and is located about 115 miles south of the southern tip of Baja California.
The storm is moving north-northwest around 9 mph.
HURRICANE GENEVIEVE STRENGTHS TO ‘BEAST’ CATEGORY 4 STORM OFF MEXICO, BRUSH BAJA CALIFORNIA WANTS
Genevieve had rapidly recovered Tuesday after a major Category 4 storm in less than a day, but has weakened slightly. While the storm is slowly weakening, it remains a dangerous Category 3 storm.
Hurricane Genevieve can be seen off the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico on Wednesday, August 19, 2020.
(NOAA / GOES-West)
The Mexican government has issued a hurricane warning for the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula from Los Barriles to Todos Santos, with a warning for tropical storms heading north.
“Slow weakening is forecast for the next few days, but Genevieve is expected to continue a strong hurricane while continuing west of the Southern Baja California Peninsula,” the NHC said in a 2 pm EDT update.
The forecast track of Hurricane Genevieve.
(Fox News)
The worst of Genevieve will remain offshore from Mexico and Cabo San Lucas, as the storm is expected to move Wednesday night through Thursday just to the southwest of the peninsula as it gradually weakens.
Winds from hurricane force extend up to 35 miles from the center of the storm, while winds from tropical storms reach up to 140 miles.
Tropical storm conditions are expected across southern Baja California by Wednesday afternoon, with hurricane conditions expected on Thursday morning.
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The storm is forecast to bring 3 to 6 inches of rain, with isolated amounts of up to 10 inches across the area.
“This rainfall could lead to life-threatening flash floods and mudslides,” proponents said.
More than 10,000 families live in informal settlements during floods in wooden and cardboard houses in Cabo San Lucas, areas that normally need to be evacuated when storms strike.
A video posted Tuesday by Jalisco Civil Protection showed waves crashing on a beach in Jalisco, a state on the west coast of Mexico.
“They have not told us anything, but if there is a strong wind, the roof will take the house out,” Flor Juárez, who moved to the southern state of Guerrero three years ago, told the Associated Press .
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Los Cabos municipal director of civil protection, Erick Santillán, said when the storm approached that officials were deciding whether to open shelters.
“It will not hurt us, but it will give us water and strong winds,” he said. “We are already making preparations.”
Hurricane Genevieve intensified a major Category 4 storm quickly after Tuesday.
(NOAA Modis Imagery)
Genevieve is the seventh storm so far this season and the third hurricane and second major storm after Douglas, which intensified into a Category 4 before Hawaii gave a near-miss last month.
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Hurricane season in the Pacific and for Hawaii lasts from June 1 to the end of November. August and September are historically active months for cyclones in the region.
Brandon Noriega of Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
