Hurricane Marie Now Category 5, Cabo Beaches and Marina Closed
At 3 PM local time (2 PM PDT), the National Hurricane Center (NHC) declared that Hurricane Marie has reached Category 5 status with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph and higher gusts. Marie is the first Category 5 Pacific hurricane since Hurricane Celia in 2010.
Additional intensification is possible over the next 12-18 hours. After this period the NHC does not expect additional strengthening. Marie is expected to maintain Major Hurricane status (at least category 3 with 110 mph sustained winds) through Tuesday.
The storm has a well defined 10 mile wide eye and is located approximately 500 miles south-southwest of Cabo San Lucas as of 3 PM local time.
The Cabo San Lucas branch of Proteccion Civil, responsible for Public Safety, closed the Cabo San Lucas marina, the Puerto Los Cabos marina in San Jose and all beaches as of 12 PM Sunday. Brief but torrential rains caused temporary flooding in areas of Los Cabos in the morning hours and some streets suffered damage from washouts, but no sevfer damage or injures have been reported.
Projections of the storm track have not changed since yesterday. Marie will remain well to the west of the Baja peninsula and will not make landfall. However, a storm of this size can still present a significant danger. The NHC advises: "Although Marie is expected to remain well off the coast of Mexico,
very large swells will affect southwestern Mexico through tomorrow
and much of the Pacific coast of the Baja California peninsula
during the next few days. Southerly swells will also reach the
coast of southern California by Tuesday, producing life-threatening
surf and rip currents, as well as minor coastal flooding."
Updates will be posted as they become available.