WeatherFanatics: Major Hurricane Odile to Bring Life-Threatening Impacts to Baja California

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Major Hurricane Odile to Bring Life-Threatening Impacts to Baja California

By Adam Douty, Meteorologist

September 14,2014; 9:33PM,EDT

Baja California Sur is in a dangerous situation as Odile is set to deliver life-threatening impacts, such as significant flooding and hurricane force winds, through Tuesday.
The latest forecasts sends Odile on a path to make landfall near Cabo San Lucas on Sunday night.
If the eye passes just to the west of Cabo San Lucas, it would bring the core of the strongest winds, rain and storm surge right into the resort city.
Storm surge will also become a major issue near the coast with a projected storm surge of 6 to 10 feet along windward facing coasts.
Currently, Hurricane Odile is currently a Category 3 hurricane located to the south of Baja California Sur with maximum sustained winds of 201 kph (125 mph) and gusts as high as 249 kph (155 mph). The storm had strengthened to a Category 4 early Sunday morning but weakened during the afternoon hours.

The southern tip of Baja California will experience the worse conditions from Odile Sunday night and into early Monday as 200-300 mm (8-12 inches) of rain floods the area. Significant flooding should be expected from the plethora of rain with major storm surge also causing flooding near the coast.
Sustained winds of 130-160 kph (80-100 mph) are expected with wind gusts approaching 201 kph (125 mph) and will cause widespread power outages and structural damage.
AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Richard Jaworski warns that "Given Cabo San Lucas's location on the southern tip of Baja California, risks will not only be confined to flooding rain and damaging wind, but a 6-10 foot storm surge will also cause significant coastal flooding." Local residents and tourists should expect extended power outages along with loss of basic services.
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While conditions begin to improve in Cabo San Lucas on Monday, life-threatening conditions will spread northward across central and northern Baja California Sur on Monday and Tuesday.
However, as the storm moves northward, impacts are expected to gradually lessen as Odile weakens over progressively cooler water.

This animated GIF shows powerful Hurricane Odile tracking toward Baja California. (NOAA/Satellite)
Heavy rainfall will not be confined to Baja California as torrential downpours will extend into western Mexico.
During the afternoon hours early this week, heavy thunderstorms will develop along the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains. The downpours will produce a general 25 to 75 millimeters (1 to 3 inches) of rain with locally 150 millimeters (6 inches) along the western slopes of the mountains.
That amount of rain could trigger flash flooding and mudslides, especially since the region was just soaked by once-Hurricane Norbert.
Through the middle and into the end of the week as Odile continues to drift to the north, despite weakening, the door will open for its moisture to surge northward and bring flooding downpours back to the Southwest U.S.
Thumbnail image supplied by NOAA

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