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Updated Oct 24, 2022 - Energy & Environment

Mexico faces flooding threat after deadly Hurricane Roslyn lashes country

Sareen Habeshian
A flooded street during the arrival of Hurricane Roslyn, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, taken on Oct. 23.

A flooded street during the arrival of Hurricane Roslyn, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, taken on Oct. 23. Photo: Alredo Estrella/AFP via Getty Images

Hurricane Roslyn has killed at least two people after making landfall near Santa Cruz on Mexico's west coast as a Category 3 storm on Sunday, local authorities said.

The latest: "Lingering heavy rainfall from the remnants of Roslyn could lead to flooding and possible landslides in areas of rugged terrain over coastal west-central Mexico," the National Hurricane Center said in an update at 10pm ET.

Driving the news: Roslyn was packing maximum sustained winds of about 120 miles per hour when it made landfall on Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

  • It was unleashing "damaging winds, a life-threatening storm surge and flooding rains" as it moved inland over west-central Mexico later in the morning, the NHC said.

Of note: Roslyn became the strongest eastern Pacific hurricane to hit Mexico since Hurricane Patricia struck the country on Oct. 23, 2015.

The big picture: It was classified as a tropical storm on Friday evening. But a 65 mph jump in wind speed saw the storm rapidly grow to a Category 4 hurricane in less than 24 hours on Saturday.

  • The storm became a hurricane at 10 pm Central Time Friday, and intensified into a Category 3 six hours later. The fast-paced growth of the storm rivals some of the quickest intensification rates on record for the eastern Pacific.
  • Roslyn was downgraded back to a Category 3 storm before it made landfall on Sunday morning and it weakened further as it moved inland, though it's remnants still posed a threat overnight.

Flashback: Hurricane Orlene, another Pacific storm, hit Mexico near Mazatlán as a Category 1 storm earlier this month.

A forecast cone map for Hurricane Roslyn, as it approaches Mexico's western coast on Oct. 22, 2022.
A forecast cone map for Hurricane Roslyn, as it approached Mexico's western coast on Oct. 22, 2022. Photo Credit: NOAA.

Thought bubble, via Axios' Andrew Freedman: Due in part to human-caused global warming, studies show an increase in the tendency of tropical cyclones such as hurricanes to rapidly intensify.

  • Such occurrences, most recently seen with Hurricane Ian in Florida, can catch coastal populations off guard and are a forecasting nightmare when they occur close to land.

Go deeper: Drones and satellites are making better, life-saving hurricane forecasts

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information throughout.

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