Storm makes landfall on Mexican coast after pounding Los Cabos
15 September 2024, 07:54
Forecasters said Ileana is expected to weaken as it moves along the coastline on Sunday.
Tropical Storm Ileana made landfall on the coast of the Mexican state of Sinaloa, a day after it pounded the resort-lined Los Cabos.
The storm formed on Thursday off Mexico’s Pacific coast and had winds of 40mph as it moved ashore, the US National Hurricane Centre said.
It made landfall near the coastal city of Topolobampo late on Saturday and was located about 15 miles south-southeast of Los Mochis.
Forecasters say Ileana will churn over the coastal region of northern Sinaloa for several hours and then move over the Gulf of California roughly parallel to the coast on Sunday, weakening into a tropical depression.
On Friday, a warning had been in effect for portions of the Baja California Peninsula, including Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.
Juan Manuel Arce Ortega, from Los Cabos Civil Protection, said the municipalities of La Paz and Los Cabos had suspended classes in schools due to the storm.
Authorities prepared 20 temporary shelters in San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, according to Los Cabos Civil Protection.
At the Hacienda Beach Club and Residences in Cabo San Lucas, valet worker Alan Galvan said the rain arrived late on Thursday and has been constant since then.
Several roads were flooded around Los Cabos and some resorts stacked up sandbags on their perimeters.
Ileana was the only active tropical storm in the National Weather Service’s eastern Pacific basin on Friday. In the Atlantic basin, post-tropical cyclone Francine was bringing heavy rain to parts of the southern United States, and Tropical Storm Gordon formed on Friday in the Atlantic Ocean, with forecasters saying it is expected to remain over open water for several days.
