According to the National Hurricane Center, rapidly increasing Category 4 Hurricane Orlene is nearing western Mexico, where it is likely to inflict life-threatening floods.
The storm, with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour, was moving north at 7 miles per hour Sunday morning, about 175 miles south of Las Islas Marias, Mexico, according to the center.
Las Islas Marias, a 60-mile-off-the-coast archipelago, is forecast to experience hurricane-force winds by Sunday night.
AccuWeather has released their early winter forecast for 2022-2023, hinting at whether we in the New Jersey area will need to tune up our snowblowers and stock up on rock salt - or whether we will enjoy a low-snow winter like last year.
Category 4 storm as it heads toward western Mexico
Win McNamee/Getty Images
According to Mexico's CONAGUA Agency, Orlene is expected to hit the coast of mainland Mexico Monday or Monday night, making landfall just south of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, where life-threatening flash flooding is a worry, as per CNN.
Since late Saturday, when the storm was a Category 2 hurricane, Orlene's sustained wind speed has increased.
The hurricane center forecasts some more strengthening through this morning, followed by weakening later today and continuing until impact early Sunday.
The storm is likely to cause torrential rains, storm surges, and landslides along the western Mexican coast.
The region is expected to receive 3 to 5 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts of up to 10 inches.
A hurricane warning has been issued for the Marias Islands and the coast of mainland Mexico from San Blas to Mazatlán.
The coast of mainland Mexico, from Playa Perula to San Blas, and from Mazatlán to Bahia Tempehuaya, including Puerto Vallarta, is under a hurricane watch.
A tropical storm warning has been issued for the Mexican mainland coast from Playa Perula to San Blas. A tropical storm warning from Manzanillo to Playa Perula has been issued for the Mexican mainland coast.
Residents in the storm's path are encouraged to take extraordinary measures owing to the risk of life-threatening floods, high gusts, and deadly rip currents.
Orlene is barreling towards Mexico just weeks after Storm Kay made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane along the west coast of the central Baja California Peninsula.
Last winter was a highly unusual one in the Garden State, with more snow falling in South Jersey than in North or Central Jersey, which are generally colder and snowier.
Furthermore, relatively little snow fell across the state between February and March.
AccuWeather's long-range forecasters predict another winter season with below-average snowfall in the New Jersey region, although overall seasonal snow totals should be somewhat higher than last year.
AccuWeather has made the same broad forecast for the New York City and Philadelphia areas.
New York City normally receives 29.8 inches of snow each year, but only received 17.9 inches last winter. AccuWeather predicts 18 to 23 inches of snow in New York this winter.
Normally, Philadelphia receives 23.1 inches of snow each year, but just 12.9 inches fell in the city last winter. This winter, AccuWeather predicts 14 to 20 inches of snow.
Winter begins on December 1 and lasts until the end of February on the meteorological calendar, because December, January, and February have the lowest temperatures and the greatest snow on average, as per NJ.com.
Winter begins on December 1 and lasts until the end of February on the meteorological calendar, because December, January, and February have the lowest temperatures and the greatest snow on average.
According to the astrological calendar, the following winter season begins on December 21, 2022 and ends on March 20, 2023.
According to AccuWeather, the next winter will begin mildly, but "people across the Northeast and Midwest will witness a few winter previews in November and December when waves of frigid air drop down from Canada."
According to AccuWeather, "the greatest blasts of frigid air will hold off until later in the winter."
