Forming off the west coast of Mexico, Hurricane Roslyn has strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane and is expected to make landfall later this week, forecasts show.
Roslyn had sustained winds of 120 mph early Saturday morning and was moving northwestward parallel to the southwest coast of Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Roslyn’s sustained wind speeds increased by 60 mph during the 24-hour period from Friday to Saturday morning, indicating a rapid increase. A storm develops rapidly when its maximum sustained winds increase by at least 35 mph in 24 hours or less.
Hurricane conditions are forecast along the Mexican coast Saturday night, bringing “strong winds and dangerous high tides,” the National Hurricane Center said.
Las Islas Marias – an archipelago about 60 miles off the mainland coast – was under a storm warning Saturday morning, as were parts of the west-central mainland coast from Playa Perula to El Roblito.
Storm warnings are usually issued 36 hours in advance of tropical storm winds, and all preparations before the arrival of the storm need to be completed urgently.
Current tracking shows Roslyn continuing to gain strength, potentially becoming a Category 4 hurricane Saturday night. The storm may weaken some before making landfall but is still forecast to be at or near the strength of a major hurricane before reaching the Mexican state of Nayarit, according to the storm center.
A total of 4 to 6 inches of widespread rainfall is forecast for parts of Mexico including Colima, Jalisco, western Nayarit, Islas Marias and southeastern Sinaloa, near where the storm made landfall. Some isolated total precipitation could be up to 8 inches.
“This rainfall can lead to flash floods and landslides in areas with rough terrain,” the storm center said.
The storm center added.
The storm is tracking similarly to Hurricane Orlene, which made landfall on October 3 just north of the Nayarit-Sinaloa border as a Category 1 hurricane before dissipating inland. Orlene had strengthened into a Category 4 storm over the open sea the day before.
