But there were no early reports of deaths and many felt they had escaped lightly.
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Patricia’s edges brushed the major port of Manzanillo.
After a few initial lingering rain from Patricia Saturday morning, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller expects “popup shower and thunderstorm activity in the afternoon and evening hours the rest of this weekend with Saturday night being dry”.
It could, however, pose a flood threat, the NHC said.
Enrique de la Madrid, Mexico’s secretary of tourism, said tourist resorts such as Puerto Vallarta had had “extraordinary luck” in avoiding damage from the powerful storm. There were puddles downtown, but nothing more than a passing thunderstorm might leave.
This year’s El Niño, an unusually warm phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation that creates a band of warm water near the equator, was ranked as one of the strongest on record and is largely to blame for the enormity of the storm. “Things are more or less okay”.
“Right now there’s a little light rain and it’s completely overcast”. Public buses were up and running.
Away from the more populated areas, residents described awaking to a scene of chaos after a terrifying night.
Cuixmala is best known as an ecological resort developed by the late Sir James Goldsmith, father of British MP and candidate for Mayor of London, Zac Goldsmith. But there was no word yet on the state of the resort. The hurricane was downgraded from Category 5 to 4 one hour after the landfall, according to the National Weather Service (SMN).
Patricia caught the attention of the world by going from a tropical storm to Category 5 in less than two days. Such storms are relatively rare and are capable of causing devastating destruction. The storm was about 145 miles southwest of the port of Manzanillo, as of 8 a.m. EDT Friday, moving toward the coast at a speed of 12 mph, forecasters said.
He couldn’t get a flight out before the storm hit and chose to hunker down in the hotel. ‘I saw it fly, and I saw it land in my patio, ‘ he said. “Rapid weakening is expected to continue, and Patricia is forecast to … dissipate tonight”, the NHC said Saturday.
The airports in Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo and Tepic were closed on Friday, but officials announced yesterday that they would fly stranded travellers out of areas hit by the storm.
Patricia rapidly lost power once it travelled inland. It is now a tropical depression with maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour.
Texas is also expected to receive 7 to 10 inches of rain in areas south of Dallas, with the possibility of flash flooding.
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“The early reports confirm that damage has been less than what a hurricane of this magnitude could cause”, Peña Nieto said.
