Summit County Citizens Voice

The AIRS instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite captured this infrared image of Hurricane Dora's cold cloud temperatures on July 21 at 09:05 UTC (5:05 a.m. EDT). The strongest thunderstorms and convection (purple) surround the very obvious, cloud-free eye. Image from NASA?JPL, Ed Olsen.

Storm expected to weaken Friday, but will still be felt along the Baja Peninsula

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Exactly one month after Hurricane Beatriz raked the coast of southern Mexico, another major storm is moving up the shoreline of the the country, taking aim at Baja, where tropical storm warnings are now in effect.

Hurricane Dora verged on Category 5 status Thursday before starting to weaken as it moved over cooler water and ran into some wind shear. At its peak, Dora had sustained winds of 155 mph. Friday night, Dora was rated as a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 125 mph.

Dora’s center will likely remain off shore, but the large storm battered parts of the Mexican cost with large swells, resulting in some coastal flooding. Tropical storm force winds extend out 150 miles from the center of the storm, with hurricane force winds extending 50 miles from the center of the storm.

Tropical storm conditions, including heavy rain, high winds and pounding surf are expected to reach the warning area by Friday night, with large swells generating life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

The remnants of Dora could also become a player in the Colorado weather the next few days, as some of the moisture it’s carrying up from the Pacific may funnel across the desert Southwest and into the high country. That moisture could bring some relief to drought-stricken parts of the Southwest, including Arizona and New Mexico.

Filed under: climate and weather Tagged: | 2011 hurricane season, Aqua (satellite), Cabo Corrientes, eastern pacific hurricanes, Hurricane Dora, Mexico hurricanes, NASA, Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale, Tropical cyclone warnings and watches, tropical storm warnings Baja