This was the IR satellite of Blanca in the Eastern Pacific early Wednesday morning. Note the rapid intensification as an eye develops towards the end of the loop. As of 4AM CDT, Blanca was a Category 2 Hurricane with 110mph sustained winds!
Interestingly, according to NOAA’s National Hurricane Center, BLANCA becomes the earliest 2nd hurricane of the Eastern Pacific since reliable records began in 1971!
Rapid intensification looks to continue over the next 24 to 48 hours. In fact, most models suggest that BLANCA will become a major hurricane, possibly even a category 4 storm! The good news is that the forecast calls for weakening, but possibly still a category 1 or 2 storm by the weekend as it nears the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula.
Here’s BLANCA’s track from NOAA’s NHC and note the category 4 strength forecast with winds up to 150mph by Friday before weakening a bit this weekend/early next week as it nears the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula. If the current forecast holds, places near Cabo San Lucas could be dealing with a Tropical Storm/Category 1 Hurricane late weekend/early next week.
This was the view from Cabo San Lucas early Wednesday. Note how nice it looked there! Weather conditions could change quite a bit over the next several days… stay tuned!
(Image courtesy: Cabovillas.com)
Meanwhile, ANDRES (previously a hurricane) continues to meander about in the open waters of the Eastern Pacific with concerning only ships and slow moving whales.
Part of the reason why we may be dealing with an uptick in the Eastern Pacific activity is because sea surface temperatures look to be running a little warmer than average! The loop below shows sea surface temperature anomalies in the Pacific Ocean through the end of May.
Thanks for checking in and have a great rest of your week. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @TNelsonWX
