Post-Tropical Cyclone Karl was expected to bring heavy rainfall to portions of southern Mexico on Saturday, a day after it weakened from a tropical storm to a tropical depression, forecasters said.
Parts of Veracruz, Tabasco, Oaxaca and Chiapas were expected to receive two to five inches of rain, with up to eight inches possible in some areas, through Sunday morning, the National Hurricane Center said. Life-threatening surf conditions were also likely along Mexico’s coastline through Saturday night, it said.
As of 5 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday, the storm was about 80 miles west of Ciudad del Carmen, in Mexico’s southeastern state of Campeche, and about 95 miles east-northeast of Coatzacoalcos, a city of 310,000 residents in the southern state of Veracruz. It was moving southwest at 5 miles per hour and forecast to move inland later in the day.
All coastal watches and warnings had been discontinued on Friday.
Forecasters in Mexico have said that Karl could pass over the states of Veracruz or Tabasco on Saturday and that it would continue to weaken and would dissipate by early Sunday.
Despite the weakening, Karl could still generate significant rainfall in southern Veracruz on Saturday and into Sunday, Federico Acevedo Rosas, a meteorologist with the Civil Protection ministry of Veracruz state, said on Friday.
In Coatzacoalcos, shelters were open and residents were instructed to prepare emergency kits and to secure roofs, doors and windows, said David Esponda Cruz, the city’s director of civil protection.
The authorities were also monitoring rivers, including the Uxpanapa River, which was overflowing its banks, he said.
The authorities in Mexico warned of possible landslides and flooding in low-lying areas of southern Veracruz, and predicted heavy rainfall on the border between Veracruz and Oaxaca states from Friday to Sunday.
