When its maximum sustained winds reached 200 mph Hurricane Patricia, set to make landfall in Mexico Friday, became the strongest hurricane ever measured in the Western hemisphere, the Weather Channel reported. The Category 5 storm threatens catastrophe and, in addition to its record-breaking winds, has the lowest central pressure of any other hurricane. While Patricia is capable of causing widespread destruction in Mexico, how can the U.S. expect to be affected by the storm?
The tropical moisture from Hurricane Patricia will play a major role in this weekend’s “Squeeze Play,” or what meteorologists have called the factors contributing to the rainy weather expected in Texas. The moisture and remnants of Patricia, a low pressure system from Arizona and the Gulf of California, and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will all converge this weekend over Central and East Texas. Essentially, Patricia will serve to fuel heavy rain and flooding already expected for these areas, in which over a million people are already on flash flood watch.
Check out today’s Austin weather forecast for more details on what to expect.
