This satellite image shows Hurricane Roslyn approaching the Pacific coast of Mexico on Saturday.
NOAA via AP
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NOAA via AP
This satellite image shows Hurricane Roslyn approaching the Pacific coast of Mexico on Saturday.
NOAA via AP
MEXICO CITY – Hurricane Roslyn grew to Category 4 strength on Saturday as it headed toward a collision with Mexico’s Pacific coast, likely north of the resort town of Puerto Vallarta.
The US National Hurricane Center said Roslyn’s maximum sustained winds had increased to 130 mph (215 km/h) by midday Saturday, and were expected to increase further.
The storm was centered about 155 miles (250 kilometers) south-southwest of Cabo Corrientes – the point of land that juts out into the Pacific south of Puerto Vallarta – and was moving north-northwest at 8 mph (13 km/h).
The forecast called for Roslyn to begin moving northward and then northeast, putting it on a path that could take it near Cabo Corrientes and the Puerto Vallarta region late Saturday or early Sunday before making landfall in Nayarit State on Sunday morning.
Hurricane Orlene made landfall on Oct. 3 slightly farther north in roughly the same region, about 45 miles (75 kilometers) southeast of the resort town of Mazatlan.
Hurricane-force winds extended 30 miles (45 kilometers) from Roslyn’s core, while tropical storm-force winds extended 80 miles (130 kilometers), the US hurricane center said.
Mexico issued a hurricane warning covering a stretch of coast from Playa Perula south of Cabo Corrientes north to El Roblito and the Islas Marias.
Seemingly oblivious to the danger just hours away, tourists ate breakfast at beachside restaurants around Puerto Vallarta and smaller resorts further north on the Nayar coast, where Roslyn is expected to hit.
As the sky began to cloud over, the waves remained normal and few seemed to be rushing to take precautions.
“The place is full of tourists,” said Patricia Morales, a receptionist at the Punta Guayabitas Hotel in the quiet beach town of the same name. Asked what precautions were being taken, Morales said: “They (authorities) haven’t told us anything.”
The Nayarit state government said the hurricane was expected to make landfall on Sunday around the fishing village of San Blas, about 90 miles (150 km) north of Puerto Vallarta.
The head of the state civil protection office, Pedro Núñez, said: “For now we are carrying out patrols in the cities, to warn people so that they can keep their possessions safe and stay safe in safer areas safe.”
In the neighboring state of Jalisco, Governor Enrique Alfaro wrote that 270 people had been evacuated to a town near the hurricane’s expected path and that five emergency shelters had been set up in Puerto Vallarta.
Alfaro said on Twitter that all school activities in the region would be canceled on Saturday, and he urged people to avoid tourist activities on beaches and in mountainous areas over the weekend.
The National Water Commission said rains from Roslyn could cause mudslides and flooding. and the US hurricane center warned of a dangerous storm surge along the coast, as well as 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of rain.
