Tropical Storm Beatriz is slowly approaching the shores of the Pacific Ocean off the state of Jalisco. In the early hours of Saturday, the meteorological phenomenon lost the force that classified it as a hurricane. This morning the storm was 20 kilometers west of Cabo Corrientes and 120 kilometers northwest of Playa Perula on Jalisco’s north coast. This was the point where Beatrice came closest to Earth. Currently, the storm is blowing sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour and gusts of 100 kilometers per hour as it advances parallel to the Mexican coasts at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour.
The National Water Commission (Conagua) has issued a warning of heavy rains on the coasts of Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima and Michoacán states, where waves of 1 to 4 meters high are expected. The effects of the storm were felt from Manzanillo (Colima) to Punta Mita (Nayarit) and in the Marías Islands. “These rains could raise the level of rivers and streams and cause landslides and flooding in low-lying areas,” warns the National Meteorological Service (SMN). So far, Jalisco’s Civil Protection has reported no damage to the area’s coastal towns.
Beatriz is predicted to continue her advance away from the Jalisco shores and toward the Baja California Peninsula. The SMN expects the storm’s low pressure to be reached next Monday afternoon as it nears land in the state of Baja California Sur. Beatriz is the second cyclone recorded in the Pacific Ocean during the hurricane season, which began June 1 and ends November 30. The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has predicted that between 16 and 22 tropical cyclones will develop in the Pacific Ocean and between 10 and 16 in the Atlantic.
Parallel to Beatriz there is also Tropical Storm Adrián, also in the Pacific Ocean, but much further from the coast, more than 600 kilometers from Cabo San Lucas (Baja California Sur). This week, both phenomena coincided in the region, but neither made landfall nor caused any damage.
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