Hurricane Warning Issued Ahead of Bud Associated Press
go to original May 25, 2012

UPDATE: Forecasters say the system that was once powerful Hurricane Bud has tamed to a tropical storm as it headed toward a string of laid-back beach resorts and small mountain villages on Mexico's Pacific coast.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla., said that maximum sustained winds that were once blowing at 115 mph (185 kph) had slowed to 70 mph (113 kph) Friday night.

The government of Mexico has changed the hurricane warning for the coast of Mexico from Manzanillo to Cabo Corrientes to a tropical storm warning. Hurricane watches were also discontinued.

Authorities on Mexico's Pacific Coast canceled school in low-lying communities and prepared emergency shelters Thursday as Hurricane Bud churned toward an area of beach resorts and small mountain villages.

A hurricane warning was issued for Mexico's Pacific coast from Manzanillo northwestward to Cabo Corrientes. A hurricane watch and tropical storm warning also remained in effect from Punto Telmo to Cabo Corrientes.

Bud's maximum sustained winds increased to near 110 mph (177 kph), making it a Category 2 storm on the five-level hurricane scale. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said gradual weakening is expected to begin by Friday.

The storm's center was expected to approach Mexico's southwestern coast late Friday.

The hurricane was centered about 225 miles (362 kilometers) southwest of Manzanillo and moving north-northeast near 9 mph (15 kph).

The government of Jalisco state prepared hundreds of cots and dozens of heavy vehicles like bulldozers that could be needed to move debris.

Officials in Puerto Vallarta said they were in close contact with managers of the hundreds of hotels in the city in case tourists needed to move to eight emergency shelters. It said the sea along the city's famous beachfront was calm, but swimming had been temporarily banned as a precaution.

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