Dora Downshifts

Storm watchers in both the Eastern Pacific and Western Atlantic are breathing a sigh of relief today, as the three powerful storms that have been threatening communities ashore have all diminished in strength and/or moved out to sea.

Off the Mexican coast, Hurricane Dora has recently downshifted from a Category 4 storm to a Category 1, after her winds reached a peak intensity of 155 mph Thursday morning — just one mph shy of Category 5 status. "It’s actully a beautiful sunny day down here," reports Latitude 38 publisher Richard Spindler, who has been waiting in Puerto Vallarta for a weather window in which to bring the company’s 63-ft cat Profligate north. Oddly enough, though, on Wednesday evening the Banderas Bay area experienced a tremendous lightning storm with 40-knot winds — completely unrelated to Dora — which did minor damage to facilities ashore.

Dora, whose eye is now roughly 240 miles south of Cabo San Lucas and 100 miles east of Isla San Benedicto, is expected to parallel the Baja coast as it continues to diminish. Meanwhile, in the Atlantic, Tropical Storms Cindy and Bret have both moved farther offshore, thus posing no threat to facilities ashore. The hurricane seasons in both the Atlantic and Pacific are far from over, however, as storm activity often continues through October. To keep track of storms throughout the season, check this National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) site.