wunderground.com - October 22, 2013
Figure 1. Aerial view of the landslide triggered by Hurricane Manuel's rains, which killed 43 people in La Pintada, México, on September 19, 2013. (Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty)
Hurricane Raymond roared into life on Sunday just offshore from Acapulco, Mexico, rapidly intensifying from a minimal-strength tropical storm with 40 mph winds to a major Category 3 hurricane in just 24 hours. Raymond is the first major hurricane in the Eastern Pacific in 2013, making it the first year since 1968 that both the Eastern Pacific and Atlantic had made it into October without a major hurricane. Raymond has brought more than 3" of rain so far to Acapulco, where a Hurricane Watch is posted. As of 8 am EDT, Raymond was drifting slowly northwards at 2 mph toward Mexico, and was centered about 165 miles west-southwest of Acapulco. Raymond is expected to bring heavy rains of up to 8" to the coast, and this is an area where heavy rains are definitely most unwelcome. Hurricane Manuel hit this region of Mexico with extreme torrential rains when it made landfall on September 15, triggering deadly mudslides and flooding that left 169 people dead or missing and caused $4.2 billion in damage. According to EM-DAT, the International Disaster Database, this was the second most expensive weather-related disaster in Mexican history, behind the $6 billion in damage (2013 dollars) wrought by Hurricane Wilma in October 2005.
Raymond is in an area with weak steering currents, and is likely to show some erratic movement until Wednesday, when a ridge of high pressure is forecast to build in and force the storm westwards, away form the coast. Given Raymond's very slow movement, the storm may weaken later today and on Tuesday, as it stirs up colder water from below. However, there is no evidence of weakening on the latest satellite loops, which show a well-organized hurricane with a prominent eye and impressive-looking eyewall clouds with cold tops that reach high into the atmosphere.
Wunderblogger Lee Grenci has a detailed look at the ocean temperatures and steering flow affecting Raymond.
