Hurricane Rachel Gains Strength Off Baja, Drifting West-Northwest at 5 mph
If you have plans along the west coast of Mexico or the Baja California Peninsula, note that Rachel's swells are expected to affect west-central Mexico through the weekend and Baja through Monday. The advisory warns of life-threatening surf and rip currents, so stay out of the water and heed local guidance on beaches and shore excursions. The next complete advisory is due at 800 AM MST, so check the National Hurricane Center update then. Also check your local weather office, as the advisory directs.
My read is that the headline number is the 100 mph winds, but for travelers the real story is the 5 mph forward speed. A storm creeping along at 5 mph, centered about 280 miles southwest of the tip of Baja California, keeps generating swell for days, which is why the surf warning runs through the weekend for west-central Mexico and through Monday for Baja. The advisory lists no coastal watches or warnings, and that is the wry part: the water is still dangerous even with no wind warning on land. The forecast calls for a westward turn and slow weakening starting Monday, so the threat fades gradually, not abruptly. Nothing in the advisory mentions cruise ships or ports, so I will not pretend it does. In your shoes, I would treat the surf and rip current warning as the actionable item, stay off beaches, and look at the 800 AM MST update before making any plans on that coast.