Hurricane Linda Rapidly Strengthens a Second Time; Will Bring Moisture to Desert Southwest
Current Status and Forecast:
Hurricane Linda rapidly strengthened for the second time in its existence on Tuesday morning. Maximum sustained winds increased from 90 mph at 5 a.m. EDT to 120 mph at 5 p.m. EDT. This makes Linda a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Linda will continue to track northwest, remaining well off Mexico’s Baja peninsula while weakening the next couple of days.
That said, Linda will trigger a surge of moisture into the U.S. Desert Southwest, leading to enhanced coverage of thunderstorms, there, through Thursday. This includes parts of southern Arizona and Southern California.
Flash flood watches have been issued for the deserts and the inland empire of Southern California.
Some swells generated by Linda will eventually propagate toward the southern Baja peninsula this week.
Hurricane Linda’s first round of rapid strengthening occurred during the Labor Day holiday weekend, intensifying from a 45 mph tropical storm into a Category 2 hurricane with 100 mph winds in 24 hours. It weakened slightly before rapid intensification occurred a second time Tuesday morning.
