Owners pulled boats from the water and hauled them away on trailers, while shopkeepers put plywood over windows and doors as Tropical Storm Lorena bore down on Mexico’s resort-studded Los Cabos area, predicted to arrive on September 20 at hurricane force. The storm was forecast to pass over or near the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula later in the day with heavy winds and soaking rains, and locals who have been through past hurricanes were taking no chances. In Texas and Louisiana, heavy rains from the remnants of Tropical Depression Imelda flooded low-lying areas and caused at least two deaths. The National Weather Service said preliminary estimates suggested that Jefferson County in Texas got more than 40 inches of rain in just 72 hours. That would make Imelda the seventh wettest tropical cyclone in US history.
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Locals and authorities prepare for the storm

“If we don’t get the yacht out, the waves can damage it,” said Juan Hernandez, who rents his craft to foreign visitors. It’s “a preventative measure for when a cyclone threatens.”

With preparations going on around them Thursday, visitors strolled along Cabo San Lucas’ main drag buying souvenirs, though also keeping a wary eye on the nearing storm. A second tropical storm, Mario, was about 365 miles south of the southern tip of the Baja peninsula late Thursday and had sustained winds of 65 mph. But it wasn’t expected to hit land. Authorities suspended classes for Friday and prepared to use schools as shelters if necessary. The port of Cabo San Lucas was closed to navigation. A total of 177 properties were available as potential shelters in five municipalities of the state. The region was in a state of yellow alert and anticipating heavy rain.

“We are taking preventive measures,” said Baja California Sur state government secretary-general Álvaro de la Peña. “Rations, gasoline, all supplies are guaranteed. There is no need for panic buying.”

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Hurricane Lorena's course of destruction

The storm had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph as of midnight Thursday and was centered about 110 miles east-southeast of Cabo San Lucas. It was moving to the northwest at 10 mph. Lorena came onshore a day earlier as a hurricane in the western Mexican state of Colima, whipping palm trees with its strong winds and lashing the area with sheets of rain. It flooded streets, washed-out roads and touched off minor slides in 10 municipalities. Dozens of trees were downed, and power was knocked out in some areas. Colima state Gov. José Ignacio Peralta said nearly 8 inches of rain had fallen in a little under 24 hours, and more than 7,400 acres of crops such as bananas and papayas were damaged statewide. But there were no deaths or significant damage to infrastructure, he said. Lorena’s brush with land caused it to lose strength and become a tropical storm, but it was forecast to regain its punch as it headed toward Los Cabos.

“There are no losses of human lives to lament,” Peralta said.

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Hurricane Jerry and Humberto

In the Atlantic, Hurricane Jerry was gaining strength on a track that was predicted to carry it near the northern Leeward Islands on Friday and north of Puerto Rico on Saturday. Its maximum sustained winds stood at 105 mph early Friday. It was centered about 290 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands and was moving to the west-northwest at 16 mph. Elsewhere in the Atlantic, Hurricane Humberto became a post-tropical cyclone out at sea after tearing off rooftops, toppling trees and knocking out power in Bermuda while blowing past the British territory Wednesday night. Officials said the storm caused no reported deaths. They added that power had been restored to most customers by midday Thursday and emergency crews were clearing roads of power lines. Government offices were to reopen Friday, though schools would remain closed.

“We’ve made it through and everyone is safe,” Premier David Burt said. “That’s what is most important.”

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