Hurricane Tracker Shows Simon Weakening Near Mexico After Two Deaths Reported
A hurricane tracker has followed the path of Hurricane Simon and the remnants of former tropical storm Rachel as they batter Mexico’s Pacific coast with torrential rain, catastrophic flooding, and dangerous surf, resulting in at least two deaths.
Deaths Reported in Mexico from Dual Storms
A 71-year-old man died in Guerrero state when a retaining wall collapsed on him during Hurricane Simon. The man, identified by his family as Albino Moreno Jimenez, had been feeding his animals on the western outskirts of Chilpancingo when the wall came crashing down under the weight of intense precipitation. A young girl died in Baja California from the effects of former Hurricane Rachel. At least 10 people remain missing in Baja California, with eight reported missing in the city of Ensenada and two in the fishing town of San Felipe. Local newspaper La Jornada reported a higher death toll of two in Baja California and 11 missing. Rachel made landfall in the Mexican state as a post-tropical cyclone, and its remnants have travelled north through southern California in the southwestern United States. Experts warn the death toll from both storms could rise, and officials have called on residents to exercise caution amid the devastation wrought by downed trees, high winds and floodwaters. The Spanish newspaper El Pais reported the death of a cliff diver, Juan Patines, who was killed in Mazatlan, the northwestern state of Sinaloa, after jumping into the sea on Saturday night. [1]
Hurricane Tracker Current Status and Forecast for Hurricane Simon
Hurricane Simon has weakened from a powerful Category 4 storm to a Category 2. Its maximum sustained winds had slowed slightly to around 155km/h (100mph), according to the US National Hurricane Center. Its centre was about 115km west-southwest of Cabo Corrientes, a cape in the state of Jalisco, drifting west at 3km/h. Forecasters predict Simon could make landfall on Thursday or Friday. Hurricane warnings remain in effect for western Mexico, which is vulnerable to landslides and deadly surf conditions as a result of the storm. [1]
Record-Breaking Pacific Hurricane Season
Rachel and Simon have battered Mexico’s western coast as part of an extraordinary stretch of hurricane activity across the Pacific. The northeastern and central Pacific Ocean has experienced a record storm season this year, fuelled in part by the El Nino weather phenomenon, which results in warming waters in parts of the region. Twenty-one named storms have been recorded in the Pacific so far. On Sunday, Simon tipped the region to a historic high for accumulated cyclone energy (ACE), a metric of the combined strength and longevity of tropical storms. This year has already surpassed the previous high set in 2018. The US island chain of Hawaii has been among the hardest-hit places. In August, Hurricane Lala unleashed ruinous flooding on Hawaii’s Big Island as a Category 1 storm, killing a 93-year-old woman and destroying some 100 homes, according to state officials. A few weeks later, Hurricane Lowell, a Category 4 hurricane at its peak, struck the Hawaiian islands of Kauai and Niihau, where powerful winds, storm surge and flooding overwhelmed towns and roads. Roughly 90 percent of Kauai’s power customers were plunged into darkness as a result of electricity outages. At least two deaths were linked to Lowell. In late September, Hurricane Nolo brought another round of flooding and landslides to the Hawaiian islands, though it did not make landfall. [1]
Additional Severe Weather Alerts Across the US
Separate flood warnings have been issued in the United States for areas in North Carolina, Texas, and Louisiana due to excessive runoff and river flooding. Flooding caused by excessive runoff continues in portions of Alexander, Catawba, and Iredell Counties, along the shores of Lookout Shoals Lake until 900 PM EDT Monday. Nuisance flooding of low-lying areas including residential yards, docks, and boat-launch areas is ongoing along the shores of Lookout Shoals Lake. The Flood Warning is extended for the following rivers in Louisiana including the Calcasieu River near White Oak Park affecting Calcasieu Parish and the Calcasieu River Near Salt Water Barrier affecting Calcasieu Parish. The Flood Warning continues for the following rivers in Texas including the Neches River at Neches River Saltwater Barrier affecting Orange, Hardin, Jasper and Jefferson Counties. [2][3]
Ongoing Weather Deterioration in Greece
The weather is expected to deteriorate further Tuesday and Wednesday with heavy rainstorms in many parts of the country and gale-force winds in the Aegean Sea. The weather service issued an update Monday to warn of the coming storms, which it said would start Tuesday in the Ionian Sea islands, as well as coastal areas in western central Greece and the western Peloponnese. The bad weather is expected to gradually spread east, affecting areas including the Greater Athens region, the Dodecanese islands and Crete. Wednesday also will see heavy storms in the Sporades islands, Evia and Thessaly, and subsequently the Dodecanese and western Crete. Gale-force northeasterly winds will blow in the northern Aegean from Tuesday evening and later in the central Aegean until late Wednesday. [5]
Scientific Insights into Tornado Structure
On May 24, 2021, an EF1 tornado moved into Selden, Kansas. EF1 means winds between 138 and 177 kilometers per hour (85-110mph) and moderate damage, capable of ripping off roofs, windows, and doors, uprooting trees, knocking down power poles and moving cars a few meters. A team of atmospheric scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles, led by Roger Wakimoto, documented the tornado’s internal structure with photographs, high-resolution video, and a mobile Doppler radar in what they say is the first experiment to employ all three technologies. The study’s results, recently published by the American Meteorological Society, revealed the tornado’s internal structure in unprecedented detail: the tornado was almost symmetric, maximum horizontal winds were near the ground, and the strongest updrafts were at its front. In the United States, the average tornado warning window is about 15 minutes from the time the alert is issued until the moment a community may be affected, but false alarms still account for about 75% of all warnings. About 300 tornadoes occur in Europe each year versus 1,200 in the United States. The ESSL is preparing a major international research campaign in the Alpine region focused on storm intensification between mountains and plains. [4]
What to watch next includes continued monitoring of Hurricane Simon as it approaches potential landfall on Thursday or Friday with hurricane warnings in effect for western Mexico, alongside ongoing flood warnings in North Carolina, Texas, and Louisiana.
