Authorities in Los Cabos said 787 people had taken refuge at 18 storm shelters. Local security forces urged evacuations even as some tourists continued to stroll the streets under cloudy skies. Others returned to their hotels.
The hurricane center said Lorena’s maximum sustained winds had increased to 85 mph (140 kph), and its center was about 45 miles (70 kilometers) east of Cabo San Lucas. The storm was reported to have stalled over the area, motionless for the time being.
But it was already kicking up heavy waves under dark skies at the twin resorts of San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas.
Civil defense official Carlos Godínez said Friday that an American tourist who went to the beach in Los Cabos with his son died after being swept out to sea. The son survived. But Godínez said the death occurred early Thursday, before beach access was restricted, and that it was “not necessarily attributable” to Lorena.
A second tropical storm, Mario, was about 345 miles (555 kilometers) south of the southern tip of the Baja peninsula and had sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kilometers). But it wasn’t expected to hit land.
The port of Cabo San Lucas was closed to navigation. Authorities suspended classes for Friday and prepared to use schools as shelters if necessary.
“We are taking preventive measures,” said Baja California Sur state government secretary-general Álvaro de la Peña. “Rations, gasoline, all supplies are guaranteed. There is no need for panic buying.”
The region was in a state of yellow alert and anticipating heavy rains.
“Lorena is going to dump a lot of water,” Godínez said.
Lorena came onshore a day earlier as a hurricane in the western Mexican state of Colima, whipping palm trees with its strong winds and lashing the area with rain. It flooded streets, washed out roads and touched off minor slides in 10 municipalities. Dozens of trees were downed, and power was knocked out in some areas.
Colima state Gov. José Ignacio Peralta said more than 7,400 acres (3,000 hectares) of crops such as bananas and papayas were damaged statewide, but there were no deaths or significant damage to infrastructure.
Lorena’s brush with land caused it to lose strength and become a tropical storm, but it regained its punch as it headed toward Los Cabos.
In the Atlantic, Hurricane Jerry weakened but was forecast to dump heavy rains on the northern Leeward Islands. It was on a track that was predicted to carry it near the northern Leeward Islands on Friday and well north of Puerto Rico on Saturday before veering well east-northeast of the Bahamas, away from any land.
Its maximum sustained winds stood at 80 mph (130 kph) on Friday afternoon. It was centered about 140 miles (225 kilometers) north of Barbuda and was moving to the west-northwest at 18 mph (30 kph).
Elsewhere in the Atlantic, Hurricane Humberto became a post-tropical cyclone at sea after tearing off rooftops, toppling trees and knocking out power in Bermuda while blowing past the British territory Wednesday night. Officials said the storm caused no reported deaths.
In Texas and Louisiana, heavy rains from the remnants of Tropical Storm Imelda flooded low-lying areas and caused at least four deaths.
The National Weather Service said preliminary estimates suggested that Jefferson County in Texas got more than 40 inches (3.3 feet) of rain in a span of just 72 hours. That would make it the seventh wettest tropical cyclone in U.S. history.
