In a hyperactive Pacific hurricane season supercharged by Super El Niño, Hurricane Rachel has rapidly intensified into a major Category 3 storm, sending massive 20-to-25-foot ocean seas and dangerous surf directly into Cabo San Lucas.
Following Hurricane Polo and Hawaii-bound Hurricane Nolo, Rachel is the latest tempest in a non-stop parade of powerful tropical cyclones battering the Pacific basin.
And here’s footage, linked here, and seen below, showing the current conditions.
Official advisories from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) report that Hurricane Rachel packs maximum sustained winds near 120 mph with gusts reaching up to 150 mph. Tracking slowly west-northwest at 3 to 6 mph roughly 200 miles south of the Baja California, the hurricane’s immense circulation is churning up 20-to-25-foot seas.
In Cabo San Lucas, footage posted by the official Cabo Instagram account captured fierce, towering waves violently crashing into popular surf spots like Monuments, cautioning visitors that “towering waves and fierce conditions are pounding the coast, creating extremely hazardous waters for all beachgoers.”
Related: Watch: Hurricane Polo Sends Gigantic Waves to Cabo San Lucas Arch
This continuous swell action comes as the region still recovers from the destruction of Hurricane Polo. Just days ago, Polo inundated coastal areas north of Cabo, completely submerging popular surf destinations like Cerritos Beach under deep ocean overwash and heavy floodwaters.
See footage of that, linked here, and below.
According to NHC forecasters, Rachel’s projected path will keep its core moving west-northwest, traveling parallel to the Baja California coastline before gradually turning westward and weakening over cooler waters.
However, its massive swell footprint is already pushing far beyond Mexico. Southern California surf spots can expect a solid long-period south-southwest swell over the weekend, delivering heavy 5-to-8-foot set waves, life-threatening rip currents, and severe beach erosion across south-facing beaches.
With ocean temperatures remaining extraordinarily high during this Super El Niño, meteorologists warn that the eastern Pacific remains primed for even more incoming tropical developments in the coming weeks.
Stay tuned for more.
Related: Hurricane Polo Is So Powerful People Are Asking About ‘Category 6’ (Video)
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