news Category 5 Hurricane Otis hits Acapulco, MX after unexpected intensification

[Element]

This is insane!! Just last night, it was forecast to be a tropical storm at maximum (65 mph winds). Now it is going to be a category 5 hurricane at landfall in a huge city (160 mph winds). Climate change has made these rapid intensification events more frequent. Very scary! I hope it moves a bit to the side of the city

 

 

[shookspeare]

chile... there's still hurricanes at the end of october?

[Element]

4 minutes ago, shookspeare said:

chile... there's still hurricanes at the end of october?

Yes! Hurricane season runs until November 30th

[GentleEarthquake]

Reminds me of Patricia

[Gaia]

1 hour ago, shookspeare said:

chile... there's still hurricanes at the end of october?

As someone who used to live in Texas, yeah Hurricane season is FOREVER  a hurricane hit my city 2 weeks after I closed on my house

[Element]

BULLETIN
Hurricane Otis Advisory Number  12
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL       EP182023
1000 PM CDT Tue Oct 24 2023

...OTIS RAPIDLY INTENSIFIES TO A CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE...
...CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE LIKELY WHERE THE CORE OF THE HURRICANE MOVES 
ONSHORE...

 

this is absolutely insane. i don't think i've ever seen such a unforecasted situation like this in 20 years of tracking hurricanes

[Element]

NHC Discussion

A nightmare scenario is unfolding for southern Mexico this evening
with rapidly intensifying Otis approaching the coastline.  Satellite
images show that Otis has continued to intensify, with Dvorak
Data-T estimates between 130-145 kt during the past few hours.  The 
initial wind speed is set to 140 kt as a blend of these values, 
making Otis a Category 5 hurricane.  Otis has explosively 
intensified 95 kt during the past 24 hours, a mark only exceeded in 
modern times by Patricia in 2015.

Otis should maintain category 5 status before the hurricane makes 
landfall near the Acapulco area overnight or early on Wednesday. 
The only significant change to mention to the track forecast is 
that it has been shifted to the right due to a recent wobble to the 
east and the latest model trends, and a general north-northwest 
motion at about 8 kt is anticipated through landfall.  Rapid 
weakening is anticipated after landfall, and Otis should dissipate 
tomorrow night over the higher terrain of Mexico.

This is an extremely serious situation for the Acapulco
metropolitan area with the core of the destructive hurricane likely
to come near or over that large city early on Wednesday. There are 
no hurricanes on record even close to this intensity for this part 
of Mexico.


Key Messages:

1. Otis is forecast to be a potentially catastrophic Category 5
hurricane when it reaches the southern coast of Mexico early
Wednesday.  Life-threatening hurricane-force winds are expected in
portions of the Hurricane Warning area with catastrophic damage
expected.

2. A potentially catastrophic storm surge is expected to produce
life-threatening coastal flooding near and to the east of where the
center makes landfall.  Near the coast, the surge will be
accompanied by large and destructive waves.

3. Heavy rains from Otis will continue to impact areas of southwest
Mexico this week.  This rainfall will produce flash and urban
flooding, along with mudslides in areas of higher terrain.

[LOTF]

Oh, no

I hope everybody there is safe 🙏🏻

[BrokenMachine]

This is insane, it was a tropical storm a few hours ago 

 

Same happened to Hurricane Lidia which also hit Mexico this month, intensifying up to category 4 in a few hours 

Edited October 25, 2023 by BrokenMachine

[MusicLoverDude]

This makes Hilary, Idalia and Lee look like tropical depressions

 

Absolute worst case scenario happening right now. 

[Element]

Otis is making landfall directly in Acapulco right now. 1 million people woke up this morning expecting at most a tropical storm. The damage from this is going to be catastrophic.

 

 

[DoubleRainbow!]

 

[MusicLoverDude]

Landfall was just announced. 

 

First category 5 to hit Mexico from the EPAC.

 

It has broken Patricia's record for strongest EPAC landfall. 

[BrokenMachine]

The kind of historical events you don't want to live in 

 

First major hurricane to make landfall in the Mexican Pacific... and in such a populated area like Acapulco 

[DoubleRainbow!]

Jesus, it’s worse than we thought 

 

 

[BrokenMachine]

31 minutes ago, DoubleRainbow! said:

Jesus, it’s worse than we thought 

 

 

The city is basically destroyed 

 

I thought maybe there would have been a way they could make it but... well... category 5 hurricanes are just that destructive

[unclefloprry]

Damn, this is worse than I thought.  It seems that the hurricane destroyed the entire city. How sad, Acapulco wasn't the best beach but it was the most popular. I hope people can recover from this. 
 

[flower moon]

wow what a mess. there must have been quite a storm surge?