Hurricane Trudy Lashes Mexico's Pacific Coast as Super Typhoon Champi Passes Guam
Trudy, a Category 2 storm with 105 mph winds, threatens life-threatening floods and mudslides in Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco, while Champi's 150 mph winds forced emergency declarations in Guam and the Northern Marianas.
Hurricane Trudy brought heavy rain and powerful winds to parts of Mexico's Pacific coast on Sunday, hitting western and southwestern states that were already struck by Hurricane Simon last week. Thousands of miles away, Typhoon Champi, a massive super typhoon, swept past Guam.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami warned that hurricane and tropical storm conditions could arrive in areas under alerts on Sunday morning and afternoon. It urged people along the coasts of Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco to prepare for potentially life-threatening flooding and mudslides. A hurricane warning remained in effect from Manzanillo in Colima state to Cabo Corrientes in Jalisco.
Trudy had maximum sustained winds of 105 mph in the center's latest update, making it a Category 2 hurricane. It had strengthened to a major Category 3 hurricane as it tracked toward Mexico late last week before weakening. On Sunday it was about 135 miles west-southwest of Manzanillo, moving northwest at 10 mph. Its center was expected to stay near the Mexican coast through Sunday evening before moving south of the Baja California Peninsula. A tropical storm warning remained in effect for Las Islas Marias, and a warning for the coast east of Punta San Telmo to Lazaro Cardenas was discontinued.
Forecasters expect 4 to 8 inches of rain through the weekend, with isolated totals near 12 inches along and near the coast in Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco. The hurricane center said steep terrain makes those areas especially vulnerable to serious flooding and mudslides. The Mexican Navy urged mariners and coastal residents to use extreme caution because of high waves, heavy rain and rising rivers. Colima authorities said the risks remained low, but warned that heavy rain could still cause damage because successive storms along the Pacific coast have left the ground saturated.
In the western Pacific, Typhoon Champi passed near Guam's southern tip as a Category 4 super typhoon with sustained winds of 150 mph. By Sunday afternoon local time it was 200 miles west of Guam, moving west at 14 mph, according to the National Weather Service. It could strengthen into a Category 5 storm early Monday local time. Guam and Rota remained under a typhoon warning, while the tropical storm warning and typhoon watch for Tinian and Saipan were canceled.
The governors of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands both requested emergency disaster declarations on Friday. On Saturday, President Trump approved an emergency declaration for Guam, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate federal relief. Airports, harbors and some health facilities in the territories were closed. FEMA's Saturday updates said resources were unlikely to reach the islands for three to five days. The territories are still recovering from super typhoons Sinlaku and Bavi, which struck in April and July.
