A hurricane watch has been declared between San Blas, Nayarit, and Mazatlán, Sinaloa, as Hurricane Willa has rapidly strengthened into a major storm.

The United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Willa, now a category 3 hurricane, is expected to approach the coast by late Tuesday after becoming a category 4 hurricane by tonight or Monday.

The storm was located about 400 kilometers south-southwest of Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, at 3:00pm MDT and moving north-northwest at nine kilometers per hour. Winds were 185 kilometers per hour.

In addition to the hurricane watch, Mexican authorities have issued a tropical storm warning for Playa Perula, Jalisco, to San Blas and a tropical storm watch from north of Mazatlán to Bahía Tempehuaya, Sinaloa.

Hurricane wind conditions are possible in the watch area by late Tuesday, the NHC said, and a dangerous storm surge accompanied by large waves was possible on portions of the coast. The National Meteorological Service predicted waves from two to four meters high on the coasts of Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima and Michoacán, and two to three meters in Guerrero and Oaxaca.

Willa is expected to produce 125 to 250 millimiters of rain, with local amounts up to 375 millimeters, in portions of western Jalisco, western Nayarit and southern Sinaloa.

Additional rain will be seen in some states due to Tropical Storm Vicente, which is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression by Monday night. Rainfall will affect portions of Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco.

Vicente was located 370 kilometers southeast of Acapulco at 3:00pm MDT and is forecast to remain offshore.

Mexico News Daily