Despite being close to land and near much cooler Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) Hurricane Norbert intensified rapidly during the overnight hours and it has maximum sustained winds of 120 m.p.h.  This makes Norbert a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale and it is considered to be a Major Hurricane.  At 8:00 a.m. EDT on Saturday the center of Norbert was located at latitude 24.8°N and longitude 113.8°W which put it about 95 miles west of Cabo San Lazaro and about 220 miles south-southeast of Punta Eugenia, Mexico.  Norbert was moving toward the northwest at 8 m.p.h.  The minimum surface pressure was estimated to be 957 mb.

The government of Mexico has adjusted the warnings issued for Norbert.  The Hurricane Warning has been discontinued.  Tropical Storm Warnings are now in effect for the portion of the coast from Santa Fe to Punta Eugenia and from San Evaristo to Loreto.

Norbert is expected to continue to move toward the northwest this weekend.  It will soon move over much cooler SSTs.  Once Norbert moves into that environment it will encounter much cooler, more stable air which will begin to lessen the convection.  As Norbert extracts less energy from the ocean and convection transports less energy upward, the circulation will begin to spin down.

The remnants of Norbert’s circulation could turn northeast and cross northern Baja California into the southwestern U.S. next week.  It is also possible that as the circulation around Norbert weakens, the upper and lower portions could decouple.  The upper and middle portion of the circulation could move over the southwestern U.S. and enhance the probability for rainfall there, while the lower level circulation remains nearly stationary and dissipates west of Baja California.