According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, Florida, newly formed Tropical Storm Barbara is forecast to strengthen into hurricane status later today, becoming the first hurricane of the 2025 Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season.
Currently located near 15.7N 103.1W, Tropical Storm Barbara is located about 170 miles southwest of Zihuatanejo, Mexico. The storm has maximum sustained winds of 60 mph with higher gusts while the minimum central pressure is down to 996 mb or 29.42″. The storm is moving to the west-northwest at 12 mph. According to the NHC, this motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days. A turn toward the west at a slower forward speed is anticipated on Tuesday. Additional strengthening is expected during the next day or so, and Barbara is forecast to become a hurricane sometime later today or tonight.
While the center of the storm will remain off-shore, some heavy precipitation is possible on land. Rainfall totals of 2-4″, with localized amounts of up to 6″, are possible across portions of the Mexican states of Guerrero, Michoacan, Colima, and Jalisco through Monday. Rainfall like this could lead to areas of flooding and mudslides.
Swells generated by Barbara will also affect portions of the coast of southwestern Mexico during the next few days. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
While the Eastern Pacific basin is active with two other possible tropical cyclones forming here over the next few days, the Atlantic Hurricane Basin is quite. In the latest Tropical Outlook, the NHC says they expect no tropical cyclones to form anywhere throughout the Atlantic Hurricane Basin through the next 7 days. The Atlantic Hurricane Basin includes the Gulf of America, the North Atlantic, and the Caribbean Sea.
