Trudy strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane as it moved toward Mexico’s southwestern and central-western Pacific coast on Saturday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. A hurricane warning was in effect from Manzanillo in the state of Colima to Cabo Corrientes in Jalisco. The latest NHC data showed Trudy with maximum sustained winds of 155 km/h (100 mph) and approximately 330 km (205 miles) south/southeast of Cabo Corrientes and 180 km (115 miles) south/southwest of Manzanillo, moving northwest at 17 km/h (10 mph). Meanwhile, Typhoon Champi strengthened into a Category 4 weather system as it moved toward central Guam. Trudy was expected to approach the Mexican coast on Saturday and pass near it through Sunday. After the latest warning, Mexico’s government issued a tropical storm warning for Las Islas Marías and suspended a similar warning for its coast south of Lázaro Cárdenas. The Mexican Navy urged sailors and coastal residents to take extreme precautions due to high waves, heavy rains and the risk of river flooding, flooding and landslides in vulnerable areas. Colima authorities said the risks remained low, but warned that heavy rains could cause damage because the ground was already saturated from successive storms along the Pacific coast. will bring between 10 and 20 cm (4 to 8 inches) of rain over the weekend, with isolated totals of about 38 cm (15 inches). Also in the Pacific, Champi strengthened into a Category 4 storm as it moved west toward Guam at 15 mph (24 km/h). According to the US National Weather Service, the storm was forecast to pass south of Guam early Sunday local time and continue to intensify throughout the day. Guam and Rota remained under a typhoon warning, while Tinian and Saipan were under a tropical storm warning and typhoon watch. The governors of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands requested emergency disaster declarations on Friday. Donald Trump’s approval would authorize federal support and funding for emergency protective measures. Airports, ports and some health facilities in the territories were closed. Resources are unlikely to reach the islands for three to five days, according to updates Saturday from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The territories are still recovering from super typhoons Sinlaku and Bavi, which struck in April and July, respectively.
