The eastern Pacific's latest storm gathered strength quickly over warm water south of Mexico. By early Friday its top sustained winds were near 120 mph, the National Hurricane Center said, with the center roughly 250 miles southwest of Acapulco and drifting northwest at 6 mph. A hurricane warning covers the coast from Cabo Corrientes to Punta San Telmo, with a tropical storm warning stretching from Zihuatanejo to Manzanillo.
The hurricane center's discussion attributes the intensification to very warm sea temperatures, light wind shear and abundant moisture, and projects that Trudy will remain a major hurricane as it makes its closest approach Saturday night into Sunday. Most computer guidance keeps the center just offshore, though forecasters cautioned that the outcome depends heavily on the exact track, and they warned of life-threatening flooding and mudslides along steep terrain in Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco.
Mexican authorities began preparing before the storm reached major status. Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Simon to the northwest was expected to fade into a remnant low, while Tropical Storm Champi prompted a typhoon warning for Guam and Rota, the AP reported.
This stretch of coastline carries recent scars. Eight years later, Otis struck Acapulco as a Category 5 after intensifying from a tropical storm in less than a day, becoming the costliest tropical cyclone in Mexico's history. Both cases are frequently cited by forecasters as reasons to treat rapid intensification near this coast with particular caution.