Tropical Storm Vance is expected to lose its tropical characteristics by Thursday as heavy rain threatens flooding and mudslides in western Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
In its 11 a.m. ET (15:00 UTC) Wednesday update, the NHC placed Vance near 19.2°N, 109.2°W, with maximum sustained winds of 35 knots, or 40 mph. The storm was moving north-northwest at 9 knots, although its exposed center shifted erratically earlier in the day. Satellite imagery showed thunderstorms displaced east of the center, and strong westerly wind shear is expected to persist for 24 to 48 hours.
The NHC expects Vance to turn north or north-northeast over the next couple of days. Its forecast calls for the storm to become a post-tropical remnant low at 8 a.m. ET Thursday (12:00 UTC) and dissipate by 8 p.m. ET Friday, Oct. 30 (00:00 UTC Oct. 31). The low could disappear over the Gulf of California before reaching Mexico's coast.
Vance's rain threat could continue across western Mexico through much of the week. The NHC warned that heavy rain could trigger flooding and mudslides in Sinaloa's central and southern areas, the far southwest of Durango and the far northwest of Nayarit, particularly on steep terrain. The NHC advised people with interests along Mexico's west-central and northwestern coasts and the southern Baja California Peninsula to monitor the storm.
The latest forecast advances the expected remnant-low stage by about a day compared with the earlier outlook covered in EconoTimes' previous report on Vance.
