Roslyn became a Category 1 hurricane Friday night near Mexico’s Pacific coast, with forecasts predicting it will make landfall between Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan during the weekend.
Friday night, the National Hurricane Center of the United States reported that Roslyn’s maximum sustained winds had climbed to 85 mph. The storm was located approximately 255 miles south of Cabo Corrientes, the point of land protruding into the Pacific south of Puerto Vallarta, and was moving at 7 mph to the northwest.
Forecasters predicted that Roslyn will continue to build strength and might reach Category 2 strength before bending northward, brushing through Cabo Corrientes, and making landfall Saturday night or early Sunday.
“The center of Roslyn will travel parallel to the southwestern coast of Mexico tonight and early Saturday, and then approach the west-central coast of Mexico, making landfall around this coastline Saturday night or Sunday morning,” the NHC said in an advisory.
On October 3, Hurricane Orlene made landfall roughly in the same spot, around 45 miles southeast of Mazatlan.
The hurricane center said that hurricane-force winds reached 15 miles from the center of Roslyn.
Mexico issued a hurricane watch for the coast from a point south of Puerto Vallarta to a point north of San Blas, as well as for the Islas Marias.
According to the National Water Commission, Roslyn’s rainfall could create mudslides and flooding. The U.S. Hurricane Center issued a storm surge warning for the coast.
Enrique Alfaro, the governor of the state of Jalisco, said on Twitter that all school activities in the region will be canceled on Saturday and asked residents to avoid beach and mountain tourism over the weekend.