“This will keep the storm stronger for awhile, likely keeping it at hurricane strength into Wednesday”, said Moore, adding that after the storm makes its second landfall in northeast Mexico on Wednesday, it is expected to weaken to a tropical storm and even further to a tropical depression as it makes its way into Arizona. Early Wednesday, its center was about 55 miles (85 km) northwest of Hermosillo, Mexico, or and about 180 miles (285 km) south-southwest of Tucson, and moved north at around 18 mph (30 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (90 kph).
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The storm was expected to dump eight to 15 centimeters (three to six inches) of rain in Sonora, before traveling to the USA states of Arizona and New Mexico later in the day, the Florida-based weather center said.
Yesterday, Newton made landfall near Mexico’s Los Cabos resorts.
There were no reports of injuries and only one street under a freeway bridge was flooded. The U.S. National Hurricane Center had warned of “life-threatening flash floods and mud slides, especially in mountainous terrain”, for Arizona and New Mexico.
Mexico changed its earlier hurricane warning to a tropical storm warning for the coast of the country’s mainland from Guaymas to Puerto Libertad.
In 2014, Los Cabos suffered heavy damage to homes, shops and hotels when it was hammered by Hurricane Odile, which hit as a Category 3 storm.
The two bodies washed ashore on a beach.
Vazquez said Newton’s winds took down trees and tin roofs from poorer neighborhoods, but he said a disaster was averted because the hurricane passed through rural, sparsely inhabited areas. Vazquez said the boat had ignored warnings against going out to sea.
Local airports closed late Monday, while small boats were barred from using the ports in case of a storm surge in low-lying areas.
Power was knocked out in much of Los Cabos and La Paz, affecting some 140,000 customers of the Federal Electricity Commission, but most should have the service restored by today, the commission said.
According to AFP, before arriving in Baja, the weather system caused damage in the southern part of the Mexico and heavy rain from the system is being blamed for at least three deaths in the southern state of Chiapas.
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But other areas have only received between half to three-quarters of an inch.
