Hurricane With 305 KM/H Winds Strikes Mexico

October 23, 2015

[Updated] While it bears no danger at all to Bermuda, the people of Mexico are not so lucky, with Hurricane Patricia bearing down on them carrying maximum sustained winds of a staggering 305km/h [190mph], which numerous international reports said makes it the strongest hurricane ever recorded.

To give a comparison, Hurricane Patricia is about twice as strong as Fabian, which struck us in 2003 leaving substantial damage and four people dead.

Photo of Hurricane Patricia taken from space by Scott Kelly:

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The U.S National Hurricane Centre said the category 5 hurricane could be “potentially catastrophic”, adding that “Patricia is expected to remain an extremely dangerous category 5 hurricane through landfall.”

“Mexican authorities have begun evacuating residents ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Patricia,” the BBC reported. “A state of emergency has been declared in three states in Patricia’s path.”

“More than 7 million residents — and an estimated tens of thousands of U.S. citizens visiting or living there — were told to prepare for the “worst-case scenario” as the ferocious storm was expected to race ashore on Mexico’s Pacific coast between 6 to 10 p.m. ET Friday,” NBC said.

“The tourist magnets of Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo were directly in the Category 5 storm’s projected path, and Puerto Vallarta’s airport was closed Friday out of precaution as some stranded vacationers described their inability to fly out of a “nightmare.”

Update 10.07pm: While it is still a very dangerous Category 5 hurricane, the NHC’s latest update said maximum sustained winds have decreased to 260km/h [160 mph].

“As the outer wall of the hurricane swept over the coast at 6:15 p.m., the authorities reported trees being knocked down and landslides taking place along the road between the city of Colima and the port city of Manzanillo. Light poles were quickly toppled and roofs torn off,” the NY Times reports.

Update Oct 24, 10.19am: Patricia has now decreased to a Category 1, and early reports “were cautiously optimistic,” USA Today reported, saying that no deaths were reported.

“Landslides and flash floods were reported, but the mass evacuations that occurred prior to the hurricane’s arrival appeared to have worked in saving lives.”

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Comments (9)

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  1. Alex Madeiros JP says:

    God Bless the people and visitors stranded in Mexico.

  2. Candy Korn says:

    May we all pray to God, Jehova, Buddah, Jah, Mother Nature or whatever god you believe in or send best wishes to these poor people.

    • Ash says:

      Not everyone believes in god or gods.

      • Oscar says:

        Why does there always have to be one?!?! If you don’t believe in a higher power, then they weren’t talking to you! So in that case you believe in the god of science, so they’re asking you to consult your local meteorologist. SMH

      • Donnai says:

        So irrelevant to his point. :/

  3. Triangle Drifter says:

    Something to keep in mind about the storm is that the area of hurricane force wind extends less than 50 miles across it’s center.if you find yourself on RR tracks & a train is coming you step to the side & let it blow by.

    The area of extreme intensity is very small. It is almost like some monstrous tornado.

  4. Truth is killin' me... says:

    I keep seeing these storms each year getting stronger and stronger. We were lucky this year because El Nino kept the Atlantic waters cooler. Once the waters warmm in the Atlantic I feel these hurricanes will be the most powerful we have ever seen in the Atlantic in a long time. Prayers for the Mexican people.

  5. Ash says:

    It had actually reached sustained speeds of 200 mph making it the strongest hurricane ever recorded. Glad to see it has slowed down, hopefully it going a little bit slower will save more lives than it would if it hadn’t.

    • It's allabou' da bass says:

      It’s worse than that even. That’s 305,000 meters/hr, worse yet, it’s 1,000,656 feet per hour.