Hurricane Lidia Makes Landfall as 'Extremely Dangerous' Storm

Category 4 storm makes landfall near Puerto Vallarta
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 11, 2023 1:00 AM CDT
Hurricane Lidia Makes Landfall Near Puerto Vallarta
This satellite image provided by NOAA at 8am E.T. on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023 shows Hurricane Lidia in the Pacific Ocean approaching Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.   (NOAA via AP)

Hurricane Lidia made landfall as an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm Tuesday evening with winds of 140mph near Mexico's Pacific coast resort of Puerto Vallarta, the AP reports. The US National Hurricane Center said Lidia's eye appeared to have reached land near Las Penitas in the western state of Jalisco. The area is a sparsely populated peninsula. The storm was moving south of Puerto Vallarta, which could cushion the blow on the resort. Jalisco Gov. Enrique Alfaro said via the platform X an hour and a half after Lidia made landfall that the storm had generated "extraordinary rain and high surf" in various places, but that so far there were no reports of injuries or deaths. The state had 23 shelters open, he said.

In 2015, Hurricane Patricia, a Category 5 hurricane, also made landfall on the same sparsely-populated stretch of coastline between the resort of Puerto Vallarta and major port of Manzanillo. Lidia was expected to rapidly weaken over the mountains and dissipate, but was still capable of soaking the region with heavy rain. Forecasters predicted Lidia could still be a Category 1 hurricane when it brushed by Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city, around midnight. The US National Hurricane Center forecast rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches with localized totals of 12 inches possible in some places in the state of Nayarit, southern portions of the state of Sinaloa, and coastal areas of Jalisco.

(More hurricane stories.)

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