At 4 a.m. CDT Wednesday, the remnants of Lidia were located about 145 miles north-northeast of Guadalajara, Mexico. Image courtesy of NOAA
What was once Hurricane Lidia, the 12th named storm in the Eastern Pacific basin, has lost wind intensity over the mountainous terrain of western Mexico, transitioning to a tropical rainstorm.
Lidia formed on Oct. 3, well off the coast of western Mexico. Late Monday, Lidia reached hurricane strength (maximum sustained winds greater than 74 mph). Advertisement
By Tuesday afternoon, Lidia intensified to Category 4 hurricane strength with winds of 140 mph as it churned about 110 miles off the coast of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, maintaining that peak strength until it made landfall Tuesday evening near Las Penitas in the state of Jalisco.
Lidia then had a drastic decline in intensity through the night as it tracked over the highly mountainous terrain of southwestern Mexico.
Hurricane #Lidia made landfall near Mexico's Pacific coast resort of Puerto Vallarta last evening as a powerful Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds.
This morning, Lidia's remnants are still bringing heavy rainfall and flooding over parts of western Mexico.
Latest:… pic.twitter.com/i7cJHin7HF— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) October 11, 2023
Not only did Lidia make landfall as the first major hurricane of the season in Mexico, but no other systems have hit the country as a hurricane this year. Advertisement
“Hurricane Beatriz never made landfall, but it came within 25 miles of the Mexico coast on July 1,” AccuWeather meteorologist and social media producer Jesse Ferrell said. “Hilary was a tropical storm when it made landfall Aug. 20 on the northern part of Baja California Peninsula.”
The last major hurricane to strike Mexico was Roslyn on Oct. 23, north of Puerto Vallarta, Ferrell said. Before that, the last two Category 3 hits were Hurricane Grace in 2021 and Hurricane Willa in 2018.
Gusty winds began to spread across parts of west-central Mexico on Tuesday morning. Rainfall from Lidia is expected to persist across the region through Wednesday, and a swath of 1-2 inches of additional rain can cover portions of the Mexican states of Durango, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Zacatecas and Jalisco.
Rainfall totals can range from 2-4 inches across upslope regions from Culiacán to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with concentrated totals of 4-8 inches possible near Nayarit and southern Sinaloa.
The terrain of western Mexico will play a large role in the additional rainfall that Lidia spreads onshore, specifically the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range that runs northwest to southeast across western Mexico.
As the air is forced upward and cools over the higher terrain, water vapor condenses and a higher concentration of rainfall can occur along the windward side of the mountains. Advertisement
“When tropical systems interact with orographic features, the mountains can have a similar effect of squeezing water out of a sponge. As a result, flooding issues can be enhanced,” explained AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva.
