MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Trudy strengthened slightly Friday evening as it moved towards southwestern and west-central areas of Mexico's Pacific coast and could keep growing through Saturday, forecasters said.
The center of Trudy will approach the coast of southwestern and west-central Mexico on Saturday and pass near the coast Saturday night into Sunday. A hurricane warning was in effect from Manzanillo in Colima state to Cabo Corrientes in Jalisco.
The storm was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (150 kmh) on Friday night.
It was reported as Category 3 early Friday, but the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami later said satellite wind data showed it was weaker than indicated.
Trudy was about 210 miles (335 kilometers) southwest of Acapulco, in the Mexican state of Guerrero, and about 290 miles (465 kilometers) south-southeast of Manzanillo, Colima state, while moving north slightly faster, at 7 mph (11 kph), the center said.
The Mexican Navy urged the maritime community and coastal residents to exercise extreme caution due to high waves, heavy rains, and the risk of rising river levels, flooding, and landslides in vulnerable areas.
The state of Colima has said that risks are currently low, but the storm could bring significant rainfall that could have damaging effects due to the saturated ground following the successive storms that have hit the Pacific coast.
Through the weekend, Trudy is expected to produce 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm) of rain, with isolated higher totals around 15 inches along and near the southwest Mexican coast in Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco.
To the northwest of Trudy, the remnants of Hurricane Simon dissipated Friday near the Southern end of South Baja California. It had 40 mph (65 kph) winds and was forecast to keep weakening.
Also in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Champi was intensifying and moving west towards Marianas, moving west at 13 mph (20 kph), with maximum sustained winds increasing to 60 mph (96 kph), according to the U.S. Weather Service and the U.S. Navy's Meteorology and Oceanography Command website.
A typhoon warning was issued for Guam and Rota along with a tropical storm warning for Tinian, Saipan and nearby areas.
