MEXICO - The first hurricane of the 2017 East Pacific tropical season has arrived, bringing heavy rains and strong winds to southern Mexico throughout the week. Dubbed Hurricane Dora, the storm is currently centered about 175 miles south-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico.
While the storm will likely stay a good distance from the coast of Mexico and mainland U.S., Dora’s downpours of 1 to 2 inches are still expected to hit areas from Manzanillo to Tomatlan where localized flooding and mudslides will be possible into today.
“Regardless of strength, downpours will impact the coast of southern Mexico as tropical moisture streams onshore,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller.
According to the National Hurricane Center, the most pressing affects we will see from Dora include locally heavy rainfall and elevated seas and rip currents along the Mexican coast. Coastal sections of Mexico's Guerrero and Michoacan states could see an additional inch of rain into today. The Center reported that Dora has reached its maximum intensity and will now weaken, eventually dissipating in the eastern Pacific Ocean and allowing for the typical summer pattern of scattered showers and thunderstorms to make its way back to Mexico's southern coast.
Dora is the first hurricane in both the 2017 Pacific and Atlantic hurricane seasons. It followed six tropical storms—Arlene, Bret, and Cindy in the Atlantic, and Adrian, Beatriz, and Calvin in the Pacific.
