A second powerful hurricane is now churning off Mexico’s Pacific coast, prompting urgent warnings for American tourists in one of the most popular vacation destinations in the region.
Hurricane Rachel was positioned approximately 230 miles southwest of the southern tip of Baja California on Thursday, packing sustained winds of 105 mph as it moved slowly northward at just 6 mph. The National Hurricane Center classified the storm as a Category 2 hurricane.
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico issued a warning Wednesday night urging American citizens in Cabo San Lucas to avoid beaches and ports due to dangerous rip currents and official closures already in effect. Cabo San Lucas draws hundreds of thousands of American tourists each year.
Mexican authorities placed the states of Baja California Sur, Sinaloa and Jalisco on high alert, warning of extremely heavy rainfall, potential landslides, rising river levels and flooding in low-lying communities as Rachel tracks along the coastline before expected to curve westward into the open Pacific.
Rachel’s arrival comes just days after Hurricane Polo battered parts of northern Mexico and sent destructive remnants sweeping into the U.S. Southwest. Meteorologists attribute the unusually active Pacific hurricane season to El Nino conditions that have warmed ocean temperatures and created atmospheric patterns favorable for storm development.
Meanwhile a broad swath of the central United States continued to suffer from Polo’s remnants on Thursday. Flood watches remained in effect from eastern Colorado through northern Illinois and into portions of Texas and Oklahoma.
Nebraska saw historic rainfall Wednesday with Lincoln recording 6.1 inches in a single day setting an all-time record according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Climate Office. In Omaha firefighters conducted 80 water rescues in just three hours as floodwaters in some areas reached depths of 8 feet.
In Kansas Governor Laura Kelly declared a state emergency Wednesday allowing state resources to be deployed to assist overwhelmed first responders in the hardest-hit communities. Chicago officials urged residents to reduce water usage to prevent stormwater backup across the city’s drainage system.
Tropical Storm Nolo added to concerns Thursday as it continued moving northwest toward Hawaii with forecasters warning it could strengthen into a full hurricane by the weekend.
The back-to-back storm events underscore the dangerous pace of the 2024 Pacific hurricane season and the wide-reaching consequences these storms carry well beyond their points of origin.