Hurricane Patricia, which has been downgraded to a Category 1 tropical storm, pushed inland over western Mexico early Saturday bringing with it torrential rain, which is likely to produce life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.
Over the past 24 hours, 10.25 inches of rain has been reported at Nevado De Colima in Jalisco state, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory issued at 4 a.m. Saturday. Maximum sustained wind speeds have been weakening through the early morning to 75 mph, down from the 165 mph speeds recorded when Patricia first made landfall Friday evening as a Category 5 storm near Cuixmala along the coast of western Mexico.
The center said Patricia is expected to bring total rainfall accumulations of up to 12 inches, but warned there would be some areas that could experience 20 inches in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan, and Guerrero through Saturday.
Patricia was, as of early Friday morning, the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere, with top winds of 200 mph and a minimum central pressure of 879 millibars. It was among the most intense storms on record worldwide.
The storm likely broke a record for its rate of intensification, going from a 60 mph tropical storm to a 200 mph hurricane in just 24 hours.
But it appeared to have skirted by the major cities of Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta. There were no reports of fatalities or major damage by early Saturday morning.
News reports from the coast showed toppled trees and lampposts, and inundated streets.
Video del momento exacto del accidente de la autopista GDL- Zapotlanejo! @Trafico_ZMG pic.twitter.com/eyWLlBJONU— Edgar Bec. (@EB__01) October 23, 2015
Milenio TV carried footage of cars and buses being swept by floodwaters in the state of Jalisco. Federal police tweeted about fallen trees and warned people about violent gusts and high waves.
En #Colima también continuarán rachas violentas en costas y de menor intensidad en #Nayarit y #Michoacán, pero con oleajes elevados.— Policía Federal Mx (@PoliciaFedMx) October 24, 2015
"The first reports confirm that the damage has been less than those expected from a hurricane of this magnitude," President Enrique Pena Nieto said in a taped address late Friday. He added, however, that "we cannot yet let our guard down."
The airports in Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo and Tepic were closed Friday, but officials announced an air bridge Saturday to ferry stranded travelers out of areas hit by the storm.
#patricia oscurece, ya pasando A video posted by Héctor R Sánchez (@yeto26sanchez) on Oct 23, 2015 at 5:45pm PDT
Residents and tourists had hunkered down in shelters and homes along a coastal stretch dotted with sleepy fishing villages and gleaming resorts. In Puerto Vallarta, residents had reinforced homes with sandbags and shop windows with boards and tape, and hotels rolled up beachfront restaurants.
Los efectos del #HuracanPatricia se sintieron en la ZMG provocando inundaciones en varias avenidas como Tepeyac. pic.twitter.com/FGCSH6a3f9— SOS_Mural (@SOS_Mural) October 24, 2015
Mexican officials declared a state of emergency in dozens of municipalities in Colima, Nayarit and Jalisco states, and schools were closed. Many residents bought supplies ahead of Patricia's arrival. Authorities opened hundreds of shelters and announced plans to shut off electricity as a safety precaution.
Facebook launched Safety Check for Hurricane Patricia on Saturday morning, with Mark Zuckerberg posting that he's "thinking of everyone caught up in this storm."
"If you're in the area, you'll see a notification that lets you mark yourself as safe -- or check on friends and family who might be affected," he said.
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));We just activated Safety Check in Mexico after Hurricane Patricia struck the coast. We've been following this closely....Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Saturday, October 24, 2015
Texas
Patricia also threatens Texas with forecasters saying that even after the storm breaks, up its tropical moisture will likely feed heavy rains already soaking the state.
The U.S. National Weather Service said a flash flood watch would be in effect through Sunday morning for Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio.
A coastal flood warning was in effect through Friday night in Corpus Christi. Galveston was under a coastal flood advisory until Saturday night.
Additional reporting by The Associated Press.