South America

Weather Underground Forecast for Saturday, October 11, 2008.

Hurricane Norbert, currently a category three hurricane, will make landfall over southern Baja California sometime during the afternoon on Saturday. The storm will likely weaken before it makes landfall, but will still cause flash flooding and mudslides across the region due to the heavy precipitation. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Odile, currently located off of the western coast of Mexico south of Guadalajara, is expected to strengthen into a hurricane before Saturday. While it is not expected to make landfall, it could move close enough to the coast to bring some rain to the coastline. Over the Atlantic, a tropical wave moving across the Caribbean Sea has a slight chance of developing tropical characteristics, although development is unlikely due to unfavorable conditions. No other tropical development is expected.

Relatively low pressure is expected to trigger scatted showers and thunderstorms across most of Mexico on Saturday, except for the northeast corner of the country, where higher pressure is expected to keep the region mostly clear. Wet conditions are also expected for Central America due to a tropical wave that will trek through the area during the day. Over the Caribbean, the tropical wave that will move through will produce heavy rain over the Lesser Antilles regardless of the development of the system. The Greater Antilles can expect fairly pleasant conditions.

To the south, the southern edge of the tropical wave trekking through the Caribbean will push across Venezuela, which, along with relatively low pressure, will fire up showers and storms across northern South America on Saturday. Most of the precipitation will be concentrated over the northwest corner of the continent. Meanwhile, onshore flow resulting from a low pressure system will produce clouds and possibly a few showers along the eastern coast of Brazil, while a weak trough will bring moderate rainfall to central Argentina. The southern tip of the continent can expect light to moderate rainfall due to a cold front that will move across the region on Saturday.