Lidia strikes Mexico as a major hurricane, quickly dissipates
AccuWeather hurricane experts say that Lidia intensified rapidly prior to making landfall, then diminished even faster
On Oct. 10, 2018, Michael made landfall in the Florida Panhandle as a Category 5 hurricane. The storm remains one of the strongest to ever hit the U.S.
What was once Hurricane Lidia, the 12th named storm in the Eastern Pacific basin, has lost wind intensity over the mountainous terrain of western Mexico, transitioning to a tropical rainstorm. Lidia formed on Tuesday, Oct. 3, well off the coast of western Mexico. Late Monday, Oct. 9, Lidia reached hurricane strength (maximum sustained winds greater than 74 mph, or 119 km/h).
By Tuesday afternoon, Lidia intensified to Category 4 hurricane strength with winds of 140 mph (225 km/h) as it churned about 110 miles (175 km) off the coast of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, maintaining that peak strength until it made landfall early Tuesday evening near Las Penitas in the state of Jalisco. Lidia then had a drastic decline in intensity through the night as it tracked over the highly mountainous terrain of southwestern Mexico.
Lidia landfall marks a seasonal first for Mexico
Not only did Lidia make landfall as the first major hurricane of the season in Mexico, but no other systems have hit the country as a hurricane this year.
“Hurricane Beatriz never made landfall, but it came within 25 miles of the Mexico coast on Jul. 1, 2023,” AccuWeather Meteorologist and Social Media Producer Jesse Ferrell said. “Hilary was a tropical storm when it made landfall Aug. 20 on the northern part of Baja California Peninsula."
The last major hurricane to strike Mexico was Roslyn on Oct. 23, 2022, north of Puerto Vallarta, Ferrell added. Before that, the last two Category 3 hits were Hurricane Grace in 2021 and Hurricane Willa in 2018.
Gusty winds began to spread across parts of west-central Mexico on Tuesday morning, and an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 170 mph (274 km/h) was put in place ahead of Lidia's arrival.
Rainfall from Lidia is expected to persist across the region through Wednesday, PDT, and a swath of 1-2 inches (25-50 mm) of additional rain can cover portions of the Mexican states of Durango, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Zacatecas and Jalisco.
Rainfall totals can range from 2-4 inches (50-100 mm) across upslope regions from Culiacán to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with concentrated totals of 4-8 inches (100-200 mm) possible near Nayarit and southern Sinaloa. The AccuWeather Local StormMax™ across west-central Mexico is set at 16 inches (400 mm) for Lidia.
Lidia was designated as a 4 on the AccuWeather RealImpact Scale for Hurricanes.
Mountainous terrain will influence the heavy rainfall
The terrain of western Mexico will play a large role in the additional rainfall that Lidia spreads onshore, specifically the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range that runs northwest to southeast across western Mexico.
As the air is forced upward and cools over the higher terrain, water vapor condenses and a higher concentration of rainfall can occur along the windward side of the mountains.
"When tropical systems interact with orographic features, the mountains can have a similar effect of squeezing water out of a sponge. As a result, flooding issues can be enhanced," explained AccuWeather Meteorologist Alex DaSilva.
Forecasters say that mudslides and flash flooding will be a continuing concern in locations that receive heavy rainfall from Lidia.
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