Miami, Florida—(ENEWSPF)—September 22, 2011 – UPDATE 2 PM PDT (2100 UTC). The National Hurricane Center is reporting that Hilary has rapidly strengthened to a Category Two Hurricane.
Summary of Watches and Warnings in Effect
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for:
- Lagunas de Chacahua, Mexico westward to Punta San Telmo
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for:
- West of Punta San Telmo to Manzanillo
For storm information specific to your area, please monitor products issued by your National Meteorological Service.
Discussion and 48-hour Outlook
At 2PM PDT (2100 UTC), the eye of Hurricane Hilary was Located near latitude 15.6 north, longitude 99.8 west. Hilary is moving toward the west-northwest near 10 mph (17 km/h) and this general motion is expected to continue during the next 24 to 48 Hours. On the forecast track the core of Hilary will continue to move parallel to the southwest coast of Mexico, but any deviation to the north of the track could bring stronger winds to the coast.
Maximum sustained winds are near 105 mph (165 km/h) with higher gusts. Hilary is a Category Two Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Additional strengthening is expected and Hilary could become a major hurricane by tonight.
Hilary is a small tropical cyclone. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 25 miles (35 km) from the center, and Tropical Storm force winds extend outward up to 80 miles (130 km).
Estimated minimum central pressure is 973 mb (28.73 inches).
Hazards Affecting Land
Tropical Storm force winds are affecting portions of the coast within the warning area. These winds are expected to spread westward along the coast during the next 24 to 36 hours. Hilary is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 Inches across southern Guerrero and southwestern Oaxaca in southern Mexico with isolated amounts of 10 inches possible. Swells generated by Hilary are affecting portions of the coast of southwestern Mexico. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Surface Wind Field
Click image to zoom in – Download GIS data ![[Image of initial wind radii]](http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/EP09/refresh/EP0911R_sm2+gif/203441R_sm.gif)
About this product:
This graphic shows the areas potentially being affected by the sustained winds of tropical storm force (in orange) and hurricane force (in red). The display is based on the wind radii contained in the latest Forecast/Advisory (indicated at the top of the figure). Users are reminded that the Forecast/Advisory wind radii represent the maximum possible extent of a given wind speed within particular quadrants around the tropical cyclone. As a result, not all locations falling within the orange or red shaded areas will be experiencing sustained tropical storm or hurricane force winds, respectively.
In addition to the wind field, this graphic shows an approximate representation of coastal areas under a hurricane warning (red), hurricane watch (pink), tropical storm warning (blue) and tropical storm watch (yellow). The white dot indicates the current position of the center of the tropical cyclone, and the dashed line shows the history of the center of the tropical cyclone.
Source: nhc.gov
