Tropical storm Newton appears to be packing less of a punch upon its arrival in the American Southwest from Mexico.
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By 11 a.m. EDT on September 7 NOAA’s National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.Newton continues to weaken over northern Sonora, Mexico and high wind and flash flood watches in effect for portions of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.
The storm packed winds of 145 kilometers (90 miles) an hour when it made landfall before dawn at the southern tip of the peninsula as thousands of tourists hunkered down in hotels in the Los Cabos resort.
Fernando Castillo/Reuters Residents stand next to debris of a restaurant in the aftermath of Hurricane Newton in Los Cabos, Mexico, Sept. 6, 2016. High wind watches and wind advisories are in effect for parts of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.
Newton is now the only tropical storm or hurricane anywhere in the Atlantic or eastern Pacific Oceans.
The boat had left Ensenada last Friday for Mazatlán with five people aboard but was presumably wrecked, passing Los Cabos at the same time as Hurricane Newton, said the office of the state’s Ports Captain.
Earlier Wednesday, the storm system recorded maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour and was moving north at a speed of 17 miles per hour. And Arizona and New Mexico are next. Newton could even reach the USA border at Arizona as a tropical storm, according to the latest forecasts.
After making landfall Newton moved inland and northward up the narrow peninsula.
Tropical Storm Newton has formed off the country’s west coast, and is strengthening as it barrels toward the Baja California Peninsula.
At least two people died and three more went missing after their shrimp boat capsized in the Gulf of California during the storm. Storms with temperatures that cold are high in the troposphere and NASA research has shown they have the ability to generate heavy rain.
About 14,000 tourists were in Los Cabos during the storm, tourism officials said, and visitors began venturing out after Newton passed.
Heavier rainfall may trigger landslides and create life-threatening conditions for residents near the Mexico border, the National Hurricane Center said.
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Along the coastal portions of the affected Mexican states, AIR expected flash floods and mudslides, along with flooding from storm surge may impacted locales where Newton makes landfall.
