Hurricane Nora Brushes Puerto Vallarta, Heads Up Mexico Coast

MEXICO CITY - Hurricane Nora is churning northward up Mexico's Pacific Coast toward the narrow Gulf of California, after making a sweep past the Puerto Vallarta area.

Authorities in Mexico's Jalisco state, where Nora made a brief landfall Saturday night crossing the cape south of Puerto Vallarta, said there were no early reports of serious damage. But forecasters warned that people along Mexico's central and northern Pacific Coast should be alert to the dangers of flooding, mudslides and perilous surf. Nora had maximum sustained winds of 120 kph late Saturday, with tropical storm force winds extending out 165 kilometers. It was centered about 85 kilometers north-northwest of Puerto Vallarta and heading to the north at 26 kph. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Nora was likely to keep dragging along the coast and gradually weaken to a tropical storm by Sunday night before entering the Gulf of California, passing close to the mainland resort area of Mazatlan.