 Early on July 23, the storm briefly became disorganized, with the low-level circulation becoming ill-defined. Around the same time, Emilia passed about 175 mi (280 km) southwest of Manzanillo, which was its closest approach to southwestern Mexico; it is believed to have caused tropical storm force wind gusts along the coastline. Later that day, after turning west-northwestward, the convection increased markedly as an eyewall began to form. Operationally, it was estimated to have reached winds of 70 mph (115 km / h), and it was forecast to continue strengthening to attain Category 2 status on the Saffir-Simpson scale. However, the NHC later re-assessed Emilia as reaching peak winds of 65 mph (105 km / h), since the eye feature was temporary and not well-defined.
