MEXICO CITY — Hurricane Bud made a brief run as a powerful Category 4 storm off Mexico’s Pacific coast, but quickly faded into a much weaker hurricane still on a path expected to take it close to the resort towns on the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula later in the week. It was the second Category 4 hurricane to form in four days in the eastern Pacific Ocean, exploding from a tropical storm to major hurricane in just 24 hours. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Bud had maximum sustained winds of 125 mph and was centered about 325 miles south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas at the peninsula's southern tip. The National Hurricane Center attributed the “rapid” weakening to “significant upwelling of colder water beneath the cyclone.” This cool water robbed energy from the storm, and its towering thunderstorms could no longer sustain themselves. Bud is also expected to produce as much as 125mm of rain across southern parts of Baja California Sur and Sonora in northwestern Mexico between now and Saturday. The twin resort cities of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo are popular destinations for international and domestic travellers, receiving millions of tourists every year. The center said the hurricane still could generate dangerous surf and rip currents over the coming days, with heavy swells reaching the peninsula later Tuesday.
Hurricane Bud grows into a category four hurricane with winds of 130 miles per hour (210 km/h) off of the Pacific Coast of Mexico.