Baja Weather

Hurricane Norbert has struck
Mexico’s Baja California Sur peninsula with heavy rains and 103mph (165km/h) winds. The storm made landfall near the city of La Paz, blowing down roofs and uprooting trees. Thousands of residents have fled to shelters. Forecasters say Norbert will cross the Gulf of California, before making a second landfall on Mexico’s north-western mainland. It is expected to hit the agricultural states of Sonora and Sinaloa later. Nearly 3,000 people were evacuated to temporary shelters on Mexico’s Pacific coast as the storm came ashore, bringing with it 13ft (4m) waves.

(more…)

At 800 am PDT the center of Hurricane Norbert was located near latitude 20.6 north…longitude 113.4 west or about 275 miles…445 km…southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. Norbert is moving toward the north near 10 mph…17 km/hr. A turn toward the north-northeast with an increase in forward speed is expected tonight. A faster motion towards the northeast is expected on Saturday. On this track…the center of Norbert will be nearing the southern Baja California peninsula Saturday morning.

Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 100 mph…160km/hr…with higher gusts. Norbert is now a category two hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Some weakening is forecast during the next 24 hours before Norbert reaches the Baja California coast. An Air Force Reserve hurricane hunter aircraft is scheduled to investigate Norbert around midday.

(more…)

Major hurricanes are rare on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, particularly as far north as Baja. Since record keeping began in 1949, only two Category 3 or stronger hurricanes have hit Baja. Hurricane Kiko of 1989 hit the east coast of Baja near Buenavista, as a Category 3 hurricane with 115 mph winds. Kiko produced destructive winds of up to 110 mph (180 km/h) in Cabo San Lucas, and caused severe damage throughout the southern tip of Baja California. Hurricane Oliva of 1967 made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane with 125 mph winds farther north on the east coast of Baja, in a sparsely populated area. No major hurricanes have hit the west coast of Baja since 1949, so Norbert would be the first on record if it maintains Category 3 strength at landfall.

(more…)

Hurricane Norbert has weakened since yesterday’s impressive Category 4 showing, but still remains a dangerous major hurricane over the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Infrared satellite loops show a well-formed eye with a large area of heavy thunderstorms, but the cloud tops have warmed today, indicating that they are not as vigorous and do not extend as high into the atmosphere. There is excellent upper-level outflow in all quadrants, and wind shear remains low, near 5 knots. The satellite appearance has not changed significantly in the past eight hours. Norbert may go through an eyewall replacement cycle today, where the main inner eyewall collapses, and a new outer eyewall forms. This process could cause a temporary weakening of the storm. The first Hurricane Hunter mission into Norbert is scheduled for this afternoon.

(more…)

Norbert is moving ahead in roughly the expected path - it looks to the writer like the point of turning on to the Baja and cross it in direction mainland is a little bit more to the north as yesterday thus La Paz is no more in the direct predicted path. But as we all know, ones don’t need to be a seasoned Baja Nomad to know that Baja hurricanes do what they want…. well, I guess they do that everywhere, not only on the Baja Peninsula.

Further south we have 2 more systems, Tropical Storm Odile and Invest 92. Both are to far away and to “new” to get any predictions. We will keep an eye on them and report of course any changes that should be if interest for the Baja Sur

Hurricane Norbert
Norbert has strengthened into the seventh hurricane of the Eastern Pacific season as of 2 a.m. PDT Tuesday. Norbert’s top winds were estimated to be near 75 mph and was located about 585 miles south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and is moving to the west-northwest near 8 miles per hour, and this general motion is expected to continue over the next couple of days. Norbert could move toward Baja California later in the week or over the weekend, so interests there should monitor the progress of the system. Check out Norbert’s projected path.

Lowell moving over the southern Gulf of California toward Mainland Mexico. Locally heavy rainfall occurring over southern Baja California and northern Sinaloa state. At 800 am PDT the center of Tropical Depression Lowell was located near latitude 23.8 north…longitude 109.2 west or about 75 miles/125 km northeast of Cabo San Lucas Mexico and about 140
miles/225 km south of Los Mochis Mexico. In La Paz there was not much to “feel” except a few showers

The depression is moving toward the northeast near 10 mph and this general motion is expected to continue for the next 24 hours. On this track Lowell will move over the southern portion of the Gulf of California today and into Mainland Mexico tonight where it will quickly dissipate.