Deadly Manuel Continues to Slam Mexico

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

September 19,2013; 11:20PM,EDT

 

 

As Acapulco cleans up after severe and deadly flooding, Manuel will continue to bring heavy rain to Mexican communities farther north through Friday.
The once-hurricane made landfall Thursday morning west of Culiacan, located in northern Sinaloa.
Soon after, Manuel weakened to a tropical storm and then it weakened to a tropical rainstorm Thursday evening as its center tracked northeastward over mainland Mexico.
It is expected to weaken even more Friday as it continues moving over western Mexico.
As was the case when Manuel was moving into southwestern Mexico earlier this week, flooding rain and mudslides are the greatest dangers Manuel poses to lives and properties.

Rainfall will total 5 to 10 inches, with localized amounts to 15 inches, over northern and central Sinaloa through Thursday night.
The heavy rain and threat of flooding will also spread to southern and eastern sections of Chihuahua state through Friday. South and east of Chihuahua city, the rain will amount to 2 to 4 inches.
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Beyond Friday, Manuel's moisture will likely get drawn across northeastern Mexico and bring downpours to the northern portions of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas states this weekend.
Some of these areas were just hit hard by once-Hurricane Ingrid's torrential rain.

Manuel's moisture, however, will generally be viewed positively across Texas, where the moisture will interact with a cold front and help produce widespread showers and thunderstorms across the drought-stricken state.
The departure of Manuel from Mexico cannot come soon enough for residents. The combination of flooding from both Manuel and once-Hurricane Ingrid has been blamed for the deaths of at least 80 people, according to Reuters.
People stand at the corner of a flooded street caused by heavy rains brought by Tropical Storm Manuel in Acapulco, Mexico, Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Bernandino Hernandez)
More than half of those deaths occurred in Acapulco's home state of Guerrero. In Acapulco, mud completely blocked the entrance to a main hillside tunnel that leads into the city as waist-deep flood waters at the city's international airport prevented roughly 40,000 visitors from leaving.
During the inundation of heavy rain, 7.43 inches of rain alone fell on Acapulco in 24 hours (ending Sunday morning).
The death toll rose on Wednesday after rescue workers recovered the bodies of 18 people who were killed when a landslide buried their homes in the village of La Pintada, located northwest of Acapulco.
The death toll may rise again since more than 68 people in the area are missing, according to the Associated Press.
Farther east, torrential rain from Ingrid led to landslides that buried homes and a bus in the eastern state of Veracruz.
A couple of showers and thunderstorms will continue to stream across Acapulco and Mexico's southern coast through this weekend--potentially hindering cleanup efforts.
During that time, another Atlantic tropical system may attempt to organize in the western Gulf of Mexico.