MEXICO CITY – Hurricane Orlean lost some punch but remained a dangerous Category 3 hurricane on Sunday as it moved toward Mexico’s northwest Pacific coast between the tourist cities of Mazatlán and San Blas.
After growing into a hurricane on Saturday, Orlean quickly added strength, according to the US National Hurricane Center, peaking early Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph. But by late Sunday the winds had slipped to 115 mph.
The storm was moving over or near Islas Marias, a former prison colony that was being developed as a tourist draw. The island is sparsely populated by government employees and the buildings there are made of brick or concrete.
Orlin was forecast to hit Mexico’s Pacific coast sometime on Monday along a sparsely populated, lagoon-dotted section of the mainland south of Mazatlán by late Monday.
By late Sunday, Orlene was centered about 80 miles west-northwest of Cabo Corrientes — a point of land that jumps into the Pacific just south of Puerto Vallarta — and was near 8 mph early Sunday. was moving north at a speed.
A hurricane warning was in effect from San Blas to Mazatlan.
The government of the state of Jalisco, where Puerto Vallarta is located, suspended classes on Monday in towns and cities along the coast.
The state civil protection office posted video of large waves crashing onto a dock in Cabo Corrientes.
In Sinaloa, where Mazatlan is located, some emergency shelters were opened.
The center said the storm is likely to weaken as it moves closer to land. But it was still forecast to hit as a hurricane.
It can bring flood-induced rainfall of up to 10 inches in some places, as well as coastal flooding and dangerous surf.
The ports of Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta were closed to ships and the Mexican Navy announced that ports including Mazatlán, San Blas and Nuevo Vallarta were closed to small craft.
Mexico’s National Water Commission said Orlean could cause “mudslides, rising river and stream levels, and flooding in low-lying areas”.
The Hurricane Center said hurricane-force winds extended to about 15 miles from the center and tropical storm-force winds up to 70 miles.