Trudy strengthened into a hurricane in the early morning hours of Thursday, Oct. 15 and is expected to "rapidly intensify" and approach the southwestern coast of Mexico as a major hurricane this weekend.
According to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center, the center of Trudy is located about 300 miles south-southwest of Acapulco, Mexico with maximum sustained winds near 75 mph with higher gusts. Forecasters said Trudy is moving toward the northwest around 9 mph, with a turn toward the north-northwest expected during the next day or two followed by a turn back toward the northwest this weekend.
The hurricane center said "rapid strengthening" is forecast during the next couple of days, with Trudy expected to become a major hurricane on
Friday before approaching the coast of southwestern Mexico and west-central Mexico this weekend.
Hurricane Trudy path tracker
This forecast track shows the most likely path of the storm's center. It does not illustrate the storm's full width or its impacts, and the center can travel outside the cone up to 33% of the time.
Hurricane Trudy spaghetti models
Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center uses only the top four or five highest-performing models to help make its forecasts.
Hurricane Trudy to bring rain, swells to southwestern Mexico
Through the weekend, Trudy is expected to produce 4-8 inches of rainfall, with isolated totals around 12 inches across the southwestern Mexican states of Colima and Jalisco. Forecasters warned this rain could produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas along steep terrain.
Trudy's outer bands are expected to produce 2-4 inches, with isolated totals around 6 inches along the southwestern Mexican coast between Guerrero and Michoacan.
Swells generated by Trudy are expected to begin affecting portions of the coast of southwestern Mexican over the next day or so, with the swells likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Track Hurricane Trudy as storm could 'rapidly intensify'
