Hurricane Roslyn makes landfall in Mexico, but steers clear of beach resorts

Mexico City — Hurricane Roslyn slammed into a sparsely populated stretch of Mexico’s Pacific coast between the resorts of Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan Sunday morning and quickly moved inland.

By Sunday evening, Roslyn had weakened significantly, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph as of 5 p.m. ET, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. The storm was about 75 miles east of Durango, Mexico, and was moving northeast at 21 miles per hour.

The NHC said that “rapid weakening is expected to continue,” and that the storm would become tropical depression by Sunday evening and dissipate either Sunday night or early Monday morning.

Local media reported two people died after taking shelter in unstable structures that collapsed during the storm, but the Nayarit state civil defense office said it could not confirm those deaths.

While it missed a direct hit, Roslyn brought heavy rain and high waves to Puerto Vallarta, where ocean surges lashed the beachside promenade.

Roslyn came ashore in Nayarit state, in roughly the same area where Hurricane Orlene made landfall Oct. 3.

The hurricane made landfall north of the fishing village of San Blas, about 90 miles north of Puerto Vallarta.

Beachside eateries in Puerto Vallarta where tourists had lunched unconcerned Saturday were abandoned Sunday, and at some the waves had carried away railings and small thatched structures that normally keep the sun off diners.

The Jalisco state civil defense office said authorities were patrolling the area, but had not yet seen any major damage.

The National Water Commission said rains from Roslyn could cause mudslides and flooding and the U.S. hurricane center warned of dangerous storm surge along the coast, as well as 4 to 6 inches of rain.