Hurricane Amanda strengthened into a category four hurricane off México’s Pacific coast early Sunday morning, making it the strongest May hurricane on record in the eastern Pacific basin.
Amanda, which is now the second earliest major hurricane on record in the eastern North Pacific basin, continued to strengthen on Sunday morning, reaching category four status on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity with maximum sustained winds near 155 miles (250 kilometers) per hour, just 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) per hour shy of a category five status.
The National Meteorological Service (SMN) says there could be heavy rains accompanied by thunderstorms and possible hail in the states of Puebla, Jalisco, México, Michoacán, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Veracruz and Chiapas as well as strong in San Luis Potosi, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Colima, Distrito Federal, Hidalgo, Morelos, and Tlaxcala.
The SMN added that the alert will remain in effect for tornadoes in the states of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas.
At 9:00 am local time Monday the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Hurricane Amanda is weakening, but remains a category 4 hurricane.
The center of Amanda is located 1,095 km (680 mi) south of the southern tip of Baja California. The hurricane is moving toward the north-northwest at 7km/h (5 mph) and this general motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days.
Maximum sustained winds are 215 km/h (135 mph) with higher gusts.
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 45 km (30 mi) from the center and tropical storm winds extend outward up to 150 km (90 mi).
The NHC has not issued any costal watches or warnings and the NHC expects steady or possibly rapid weakening during the next 48 hours.
(from National Hurricane Center & El Universal)
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in its latest news update on Hurricane Christina said Christina is now a Category 4. However, it indicated that Hurricane Christina will lose intensity later today.
