Major Hurricane John made landfall about 9:15 p.m. CST Monday along Mexico’s southern Pacific coast. Image courtesy of NOAA
Sept. 24 (UPI) — Major Hurricane John made landfall on Monday night as a Category 3 storm along Mexico’s Pacific coast, where forecasters are warning of flash flooding and life-threatening conditions.
The storm moved inland at about 9:15 p.m. CST along the southern coast of Mexico, just to the southwest of Marquelia in the state of Guerrero, the National Hurricane Center said.
It had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, which makes it a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
According to the U.S. forecasters, it was a slow-moving storm, heading north at 8 mph.
Forecasters had warned about 20 minutes before landfall that Mexico’s southwestern coast was being inundated with damaging hurricane-force winds, a life-threatening storm surge and flash flooding.
A hurricane warning was in effect for areas east of Acapulco to Bahías de Huatulco, while a tropical storm warning was in effect for areas east of Bahías de Huatulco to Salina Cruz.
John is forecast to continue moving inland over southern Mexico on Tuesday and is expected to experience rapid weakening as it does so. However, it is expected to drench southern Mexico.
“Slow-moving Hurricane John will bring very heavy rainfall to coastal portions of southwest Mexico through the upcoming week,” a NHC discussion on the storm states. “This heavy rainfall will likely cause significant and possibly catastrophic, life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides to the Mexican States of Chiapas, Oaxaca and southeast Guerrero, particularly in areas near the coast.”
Between 6 and 12 inches of rain, with isolated totals of 15 inches, are predicted for across coastal Chiapas. Some areas along and near the Oaxaca coast to southeast Guerrero are expected to receive between 10 and 20 inches of rainfall, with isolated totals to reach as much as 30 inches.
President Andrés Manuel of Mexico warned citizens two hours before landfall via social media to “seek higher ground, protect yourselves and do not forget that life is the most important thing; material things can be replaced.”