We went aboard a cruise ship navigating some of the world's most dangerous waters. In the Arctic, drifting icebergs, sea ice, sudden storms and fierce winds make sailing unpredictable. Yet every year, around 100,000 cruise passengers travel to Greenland to explore its remote coastline and experience one of the world's last great wildernesses.

Hurricane Trudy weakened to Category 1 on Friday off Mexico’s Pacific coast, after data gathered by a hurricane-hunter aircraft, but the country’s National Meteorological Service (SMN) kept its alert for intense rain in the south and west of the country.

The downgrade came hours after the storm reached Category 3 in the early morning hours and registered Category 2 around midday, the National Meteorological Service (SMN) said in an update.

At noon local time, the center of the cyclone was located about 370 kilometers southwest of Acapulco, in Guerrero state, and 515 kilometers south-southeast of Manzanillo, in Colima state, but it was moving north-northwest at seven kilometers per hour.

RELATED: 5 Dead in Mexico as Storm Rachel, Hurricane Simon Hit Pacific Coast

The adjustment followed a warning earlier in the day from National Meteorological Service’s coordinator Fabián Vázquez Romaña, who told the presidential news conference about the storm’s rapid intensification and a forecast that it could reach Category 4 before approaching the coasts of Colima and Jalisco on Sunday.

Alerts and Rain Forecast

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged residents of the regions under alert to follow official civil protection notices and to go to temporary shelters if they are in risk zones or near riverbeds.

The National Meteorological Service said the storm’s circulation will bring intense rainfall to the states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, Colima and Michoacán. Mexican authorities, working with the U.S. National Hurricane Center, maintain a hurricane-wind watch zone from Manzanillo, Colima, to Playa Pérula, Jalisco.

The agency warned that the rain could cause landslides, rising rivers and streams, overflows and flooding in low-lying areas of the affected states, and urged the public to follow civil protection recommendations.

Tropical Storm Simón Nearby

A second system is also churning in the Pacific. Tropical Storm Simon was located 220 kilometers south of Cabo San Lucas in Baja California Sur and 445 kilometers west of Cabo Corrientes in Jalisco.

Simon carries winds of 65 kilometers per hour and drifts northwest at 15 kilometers per hour. It will generate very heavy rains, wind gusts reaching 50 kilometers per hour and swells of two to three meters along the southern portion of Baja California Sur.

The presence of two active systems on the same coastline complicates the response. Emergency planners must track the slow-moving Trudy as it threatens Guerrero, Colima and Jalisco while Simon feeds moisture into Baja California Sur hundreds of kilometers to the north.

Trudy’s sudden weakening does not remove the danger. Forecasters stress that the downgrade reflects current wind speeds, not the rainfall threat, which remains substantial and stretches well beyond the storm’s center.

The storm’s seven-kilometer-per-hour drift means it will linger over the region longer, unloading rain on the same watersheds hour after hour. That pattern, rather than wind alone, drives the risk of flash floods and mudslides in mountainous terrain.

Mexico has strengthened its early warning systems in recent years, and the morning presidential briefing reflected an effort to keep the public informed before the storm’s most dangerous phase arrives. President Sheinbaum’s appeal to use temporary shelters framed the government’s priority as protecting lives ahead of property.

The coming days will test that preparation. Trudy may regain strength if conditions over the Pacific shift, and the projected approach to Colima and Jalisco on Sunday keeps coastal communities on edge.

For now, the alerts remain in place and the message from authorities is consistent: the storm has weakened, but the rain has not, and the hours of greatest risk still lie ahead.

Storm Rachel and Hurricane Simon have killed at least five people across Mexico’s Pacific coast as of Tuesday, while heavy rains, strong winds and rough seas keep several states on alert, authorities reported this Tuesday.

Rachel, which is advancing through northwestern Mexico, has caused at least four deaths in the city of Ensenada in the state of Baja California.

The victims include two children, aged 4 and 13, and two women, aged 35 and 50. Five people remain missing.

RELATED: Hurricane Isaias Kills Four, Leaves Nearly 396,000 Without Power

The storm also brought structural damage and blocked roads across the region. Authorities remain active in rescue operations for those still reported as missing, and in recent hours confirmed the rescue of 32 people who had been cut off in different localities.

Rachel’s Path of Destruction

The cities most affected by Rachel are San Felipe, Tijuana, Playas de Rosarito, Mexicali and Tecate, along with the localities of El Arroyo, El Pípila and Maneadero. Damage to homes and businesses has been reported, with significant disruptions to several roads along the Pacific coast.

Rachel began as a tropical storm that formed off the coast of the state of Guerrero on September 27. Since then it has shown variations in intensity and trajectory as it moved up the Mexican coast before strengthening and turning toward the northwest.

Authorities have warned about landslides, the swelling of rivers and streams, and flooding in some areas. They have called on citizens to stay informed as the systems continue to move.

Simon Weakened But Dangerous

Meanwhile, Hurricane Simon has weakened to a category 1 storm but remains a threat to several localities along Mexico’s Pacific coast. The states of Nayarit and Sinaloa continue to face heavy rains and winds, along with waves between two and three meters high.

The cyclone’s center was located approximately 155 kilometers west of Jalisco and 320 kilometers south-southwest of Sinaloa, with maximum sustained winds of 150 kilometers per hour and gusts reaching 185 kilometers per hour.

Mexican authorities reported that the center of Hurricane Simon was moving toward the west-northeast at a speed of six kilometers per hour. Authorities have maintained alerts for the affected areas due to tropical storm force winds.

Simon has already claimed one life. A 71-year-old man died in a landslide in Chilpancingo, the capital of Guerrero state.

The two systems have struck Mexico’s Pacific coast in quick succession, stretching emergency resources across a wide area. Rescue crews are working in multiple states, while the death toll could rise as searches continue for those still unaccounted for.

In Ensenada, the search for the five missing people remains the priority for local authorities. The confirmed rescue of 32 people who had been isolated offers some relief, but the situation in the affected municipalities remains tense.

The storms come during a period of heightened activity in the Pacific, with authorities urging residents in vulnerable areas to heed evacuation orders and avoid crossing swollen rivers or flooded roads.

Hurricane Simón killed an adult on the Mexican Pacific coast through collapses and landslides caused by its rains, authorities reported Monday.

In its path, the weather event caused damage in Guerrero, Michoacán, Nayarit, Jalisco and Colima, authorities said.

Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado confirmed the death during a press conference with President Claudia Sheinbaum. “Unfortunately, a 71-year-old older adult died from the collapse of a wall in Chilpancingo,” the state capital, Salgado said.

RELATED: Hurricane Simon Threatens Mexico With 240 kph Winds

Laura Velázquez, national coordinator of Civil Protection, told the press that Simón is expected to further enter national territory Wednesday through Mazatlán, in Sinaloa.

The natural event’s characteristics forced authorities to deploy brigades and heavy machinery, with support from the Armed Forces, the National Guard and the Navy, enabling some roads to reopen.

Authorities said heavy rains in Acapulco and Chilpancingo caused trees to fall, landslides and power outages in some areas. The phenomenon, whose intensity is increasing, has Nayarit and Sinaloa on alert.

Fabián Vázquez, coordinator of the National Meteorological Service, specified that the hurricane will continue its path for several days in the Mexican Pacific and will also cause heavy rainfall.

The official report indicated maximum sustained winds of 185 km/h, gusts of 220 km/h, and slow northwest movement at 4 km/h.

Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila, also at the conference with President Sheinbaum, reported damage in her state from Storm Rachel in recent days, which killed a minor and left ten people missing. “Unfortunately, 10 people are unaccounted for and a minor has been found dead,” she said.

A heavy rainstorm has been sweeping across the island of Crete on Thursday with tons of water flooding homes, businesses and agricultural land, damaging roads and bridges, causing the life of one person and putting at risk the lives of thousands. Most affected are the regions of Heraklion, Lasithi and Rethymnon. Thye bad weather is […]

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