The latest storm news on July 1 said that Typhoon Flossie is currently reaching maximum sustained winds of about 80 km/h, the center of the storm is about 280 km southwest of Zihuatanejo, Mexico.
Flossie is the sixth storm to form in six weeks since the eastern Pacific hurricane season began on May 15. Flossie formed last weekend, about 640km west of Nicaragua and could move along the west coast of Mexico before bringing the humid weather to the Baja peninsula this weekend.
Initially, weather forecast models predicted that the storm developed quite slowly, but currently the possibility of the storm strengthening rapidly is increasing.
It is forecast that in the next few days, the storm will gradually strengthen to rapidly strengthen, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said and forecast that Flossie will strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane on July 1.
The latest storm is only active near the west coast of Mexico, but heavy rains could still cause localized flooding near the coast. Scattered rainfall of 150 - 200mm is forecast for Colima and Michoacan de Ocampo.
External rain bands of Typhoon Flossie will bring localized heavy rains to coastal areas of the states of Guerrero, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco of Mexico through July 2. The risk of life-threatening flooding and landslides is entirely possible, especially in mountainous areas with rugged terrain," the US National Hurricane Center warned.
US hurricane forecasters note that Flossie will move mainly offshore, but still have the potential to strengthen into a Category 2 hurricane or even higher.
On June 30, the US National Hurricane Center warned "clearly predict Flossie will rapidly intensify over the next 24 hours," with a peak expected on July 1, when it reaches winds of 160 km/h. Some forecast models also show that the storm could strengthen by 97 - 105 km/h compared to current levels, bringing winds to 177 km/h, near the level 3 storm threshold on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
Flossie is fueled by warm ocean waters, abundant atmospheric moisture and strong upper-level winds. If the winds above are too strong, a newly formed storm can quickly dissipate. However, strong upper-level winds could allow Flossie to rapidly strengthen.
By July 2, Flossie could begin to move out of the humid air, into drier air and cooler ocean waters. The storm will weaken into a tropical storm on the morning of July 3, and when it affects the Baja Peninsula, Flossie will be a low pressure area, causing scattered rain and strong winds.
Typhoon Flossie formed in the eastern Pacific right after Typhoon Erick made landfall in Mexico on June 19 as a Category 3 storm with winds of 201 km/h. Before making landfall, Erick had reached Category 4 offshore, from a tropical storm 97 km/h to a super typhoon 233 km/h in just 24 hours. atmospheric conditions similar to Typhoon Flossie have fueled Erick's rapid strengthening.
