This NOAA satellite image taken Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009 at midnight EDT shows Hurricane Jimena moving through southern Baja Calif., producing widespread rain and strong winds. At 1 a.m. CDT the National Hurricane Center in Miami announced that Hurricane Jimena has weakened to a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds weakening to 110 mph. The center of the storm was located about 95 miles west-southwest of La Paz Mexico moving north-northwest at about 13 mph. (AP Photo/NOAA)
Jimena weakened to a Category 2 hurricane Wednesday morning as it continued to move along the west coast of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula.
At 10 a.m. CDT, the center of Jimena was 30 miles north-northeast of Cabo San Lazaro, Mexico, having passed very close to the coastal community of Puerto San Carlos. The storm was 255 miles southeast of Punta Eugenia, Mexico and moving to the north-northwest at 13 mph.
Although it had diminished in intensity, Jimena was still producing maximum sustained winds of 100 mph and continued to be a dangerous storm.
The Mexican state of Baja California Sur set up 35 emergency shelters to house up to 30,000 people potentially displaced by the hurricane. Schools were being closed for five days. The government also handed out 25,000 emergency food packets.
Tropical Storm Erika expected to hit islands
In the Atlantic Ocean, Tropical Storm Erika was moving toward the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea. France issued a tropical storm warning for Guadeloupe, and tropical storm warnings remain in effect for Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, St. Barthelemy, St. Martin, Anguilla, Saba, and St. Eustatius.
The good news for the islands was that the storm had weakened. Erika now has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. Little change in intensity is expected today.
At 10 a.m. CDT, Erika was about 100 miles east-southeast of the Leeward Islands, moving to the west at 10 mph. It is expected to begin moving in a more northwesterly direction later today.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami reported that the storm could regain some strength tomorrow as it moves toward the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Forecasters expect Erika could dump three to five inches of rain over much of Puerto Rico, with some areas seeing up to eight inches of rain.
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