MEXICO CITY — Agatha, the first tropical storm of the 2022 hurricane season in the Pacific, formed Saturday off Mexico’s southern coast.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center stated that Agatha could become a storm and move towards land.
The center of the storm, which was located approximately 220 miles (355 km) southwest of Puerto Angel on Saturday morning, had winds gusting to 45 mph (75 Kph).
Although the storm moved west at five mph (7 kilometers per hour), it was forecast to turn north.
For parts of Oaxaca’s coast, a hurricane watch has been issued. Agatha could land on Tuesday.
While the storm could pack winds as high as 100 mph (160 kph) at landfall, the center cited the risk of “potentially life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides” as its rains pound the mountainous terrain of Oaxaca.
Because the storm’s current path would carry it over the narrow waist of Mexico’s Isthmus, the center said there was a chance the storm’s remnants could re-emerge over the Gulf of Mexico.
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