Mexico expects Otis to make landfall early Wednesday morning as a category 4 hurricane

Mexico predicts that Hurricane Otiswhich increased to category 3 in the last hours and is approaching the coasts of the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, made landfall during the early hours of Wednesday, in the vicinity of Acapulcoone of the most popular tourist destinations in the country, the National Meteorological Service (SMN) reported this Tuesday.

“It is expected that during the afternoon-night of this Tuesday it will continue moving north-northwest, approaching Acapulco and the hurricane is forecast to impact as a category 4 hurricane with winds of 210 to 250 kilometers per hour between the municipalities of Técpan de Galeana and Acapulco on Wednesday between 04:00 and 06:00 hours (10:00 and 12:00 GMT),” the SMN coordinator, Alejandra Méndez Girón, reported at a press conference.

He added that the dangerous quadrant of the system It will gradually affect the municipalities of Acapulco, Coyuca de Benítez, Benito Juárez, Atoyac de Álvarez, Técpan de Galeana, San Marcos, Florencio Villareal, Petatlán and Zihuatanejo.

The hurricane Otis quickly grew to category 3 just a few hours after having gone through categories 1 and 2 this Tuesday.

In the 3 o’clock report it was noted that Otis, which emerged on Saturday as a tropical depression, was located 150 km southwest of Punta Maldonado and 185 km south-southeast of Acapulco, both in Guerrero.

The phenomenon has maximum sustained winds of 205 km/h, gusts of 250 km/h, and moves towards the north-northwest at 13 km/h.

Méndez Girón indicated that the wide circulation of the system “it causes intense to occasional torrential rains in Guerrero; and very strong to intense in Oaxacareinforcing the probability of intervals of showers with heavy occasional rains in Michoacán, State of Mexico, Morelos, Puebla and Mexico City.”

“These rains could cause reduced visibility, landslides, flooding or flooding, as well as an increase in the levels of rivers and streams.“he warned.

In addition, Mexican authorities forecast wind gusts of 150 to 180 km/h and waves of 6 to 8 meters high on the coasts of Guerrero and Oaxaca.

Due to these conditions, the head of the SMN said that a hurricane prevention zone is maintained from Punta Maldonado to Zihuatanejo, in the state of Guerrero, as well as a hurricane surveillance zone from Lagunas de Chacahua, in Oaxaca and to Punta Maldonado, in Guerrero.

The head of the Mexican Meteorological Service called on the general population in the areas of the aforementioned states to take extreme precautions due to rain, wind and waves (including maritime navigation) and follow the recommendations issued by the Civil Protection authorities in each state.

He also warned that Otis will remain grounded for 48 hours.

The cyclone arrives just days after Norma hit western Mexico, leaving three dead in the state of Sinaloa.

Otis is the fifteenth named cyclone of this season in the Pacific, where Adrian, Beatriz, Calvin, Dora, Eugene, Fernanda, Greg, Hilary, Irwin, Jova, Kenneth, Lidia, Max and Norma formed before.

Of them, the most damaging has been Hilary, which in August left four dead in the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur and Sinaloa, all in northern Mexico.

While the double scourge of cyclones Lidia and Max left five dead in total in the second week of October, one in Nayarit, two in Jalisco and two in Guerrero.

The Government of Mexico predicted in May the formation of up to 38 named cyclones in the 2023 season, of which five could hit the country.

Keep reading:

• Southern Mexico on alert in the face of the advance of Category 2 Hurricane Otis
• Storm Norma leaves at least three dead in Mexico, including a child
• Hurricane Norma weakened into a tropical storm in Mexico