*Friday morning update with references to fatalities, damage and clearing skies (click link)
By Pete Thomas
Tropical Storm Lidia was positioned immediately southwest of Cabo San Lucas late Thursday evening, delivering powerful winds and torrential rain that was flooding city streets and parts of nearby San Jose del Cabo.
“We’re getting belted by the storm now,” longtime Cabo San Lucas resident Tracy Ehrenberg said via email, at 6:30 p.m. local time. ”It’s practically a hurricane. We’re holding on here and praying the docks will stay together.”
According to the National Hurricane Center's 6 p.m. update, Lidia boasted sustained gusts of 65 mph – only 9 mph below hurricane strength and capable of downing trees and power poles.
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The storm's center is predicted to skirt Cabo San Lucas, a Mexican resort destination on Baja California’s tip, before making landfall farther north on the Pacific side of the peninsula. Hurricane watches and tropical storm warnings remain in effect for much of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur.
Ehrenberg, who runs Pisces Sportfishing inside Cabo San Lucas Marina, shared reports about flooding in San Jose del Cabo, 35 miles north of Cabo San Lucas. The two cities and the corridor that connects them comprise the popular Los Cabos tourism zone.
The storm was being felt at least as far north as La Paz, on the eastern shore of the peninsula along the Sea of Cortez.
In a Facebook post, Tailhunter International Sportfishing wrote, “Lidia building up to hit Cabo. We’re next in La Paz! Gusts now up to 50 mph and trees snapping.”
In the East Cape region, also on the Sea of Cortez between Cabo San Lucas and La Paz, resident Mark Rayor said late Thursday afternoon that conditions weren’t as bad.
“Toughest thing here is that we are not getting a satellite signal so we can’t watch the news,” Rayor said. “Tired of being cooped up inside [but] there have been enough breaks in the rain to take our dogs and cats out to do what they need to do.”
Gary Barnes-Webb, at nearby Rancho Leonero Resort, later said that East Cape arroyos were "in full-flood" stage and predicted "devastation" in certain areas.
It was too early at the time of this post for a damage assessment, and it was unclear how Lidia is affecting small and remote towns on the Pacific side of the peninsula.
Lidia is expected to remain at tropical storm strength through late Saturday night, as it churns northwest across land, before it reenters the Pacific and slowly dissipates in cool water.
–Satellite image showing Tropical Storm Lidia and powerful thunderstorms in its center (yellow areas) is courtesy of NASA
–Image showing Baja California's tip in advance of the storm is courtesy of MaeLeigh Cervantes, via Tailhunter International
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