Ileana weakens to tropical depression as it heads toward Sinaloa, Mexico
Storm Ileana has weakened to a tropical depression, the National Hurricane Center said Sunday.
The tropical storm formed Thursday off Mexico's Pacific coast as it moved ashore, making landfall on the coast of the Mexican state of Sinaloa Saturday, a day after it pounded the resort-studded Los Cabos.
On Sunday, wind speed dropped to 35 mph (55 kph), NOAA said in an advisory, as Ileana was nearly 30 miles (45 kilometers) southwest of Los Mochis, Mexico, and moving west-northwest at 2 mph (4 kph). It also forecasts the storm to become a remnant low — a post-tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds less than 34 knots.
Heavy rainfall from Ileana is expected to last through the weekend, bringing a risk of flooding and mudslides, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said early Sunday. An additional 1 to 2 inches of rainfall could fall in portions of northwest Sinaloa through Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said.
On Friday, a warning had been in effect for portions of the Baja California Peninsula, including Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.
Juan Manuel Arce Ortega, from Los Cabos Civil Protection, said the municipalities of La Paz and Los Cabos had suspended classes in schools due to the storm.
Authorities prepared 20 temporary shelters in San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, according to Los Cabos Civil Protection.
At the Hacienda Beach Club and Residences in Cabo San Lucas, valet worker Alan Galvan said the rain arrived late Thursday night and has been constant. "The rain isn't very strong right now, but the waves are choppy," he said.
