Residents and tourists hunkered down in shelters and hotel conference rooms overnight as a powerful and sprawling Hurricane Odile made landfall on the southern Baja California peninsula.
The area is home to gleaming megaresorts, tiny fishing communities and low-lying neighborhoods of flimsy homes. Forecasters predicted a dangerous storm surge with large waves as well as drenching rains capable of causing landslides and flash floods.
By early Monday, the storm’s maximum sustained winds were near 115 mph (185 kph) as it moved over the peninsula. It was centered about 140 miles (230 kilometers) east-southeast of Cabo San Lazaro.
As howling winds whipped palm trees amid pelting rain outside, people bedded down and used magazines to fan themselves in crowded, stuffy safe rooms.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Edouard has now moved further off into the Atlantic Ocean and poses no threat to Florida.
Jeff Masters is the director of meteorology for the Weather Underground, and he speaks with Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson about the storm.
Guest
- Jeff Masters, director of meteorology for the Weather Underground.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
