Hurricane Agatha — the first 2022 hurricane in either the Atlantic or the eastern Pacific — came ashore in southern Mexico on Monday as a high-end Category 2 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Threat level: "Life-threatening hurricane-force winds are expected in portions of the hurricane warning area in Oaxaca, Mexico, this afternoon and continuing through this evening," said the National Hurricane Center in a forecast discussion Monday. The first named Pacific hurricane of 2022 formed Sunday.
- "Extremely dangerous coastal flooding from storm surge accompanied by large and destructive waves is expected near and the east of where Agatha makes landfall," the NHC said.
- "Heavy rains associated with Agatha over portions of southern Mexico will continue through Tuesday. This rainfall will pose a threat of potentially life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides," it added. Up to two feet or more of rain could fall in some areas, forecasters warned.
State of play: Hurricane Agatha came ashore with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph near Puerto Angel, Mexico, as it moved toward the northeast at close to 8 mph Monday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center.
- Oaxaca's civil defense office said the strengthening storm's outer bands were already striking the coast, and Huatulco municipal authorities ordered the closing of all beaches in a region that's popular with tourists, AP reports.
Of note: There is an increasing chance the storm's general circulation could survive the trek across Mexico and redevelop in the Gulf of Mexico later this week. The storm went through a period of rapid intensification on Sunday, taking it to the brink of major hurricane...