Erick becomes 'extremely dangerous' hurricane in Pacific Ocean
Erick intensified into a major hurricane on Wednesday and was projected to strike Mexico's western coast. Image courtesy of National Hurricane Center/ Website
June 19 (UPI) -- Erick became an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane early Thursday, as it crossed the Pacific Ocean en route to western Mexican two days after becoming a named storm.
In its 9 p.m. CST advisory, the National Hurricane Center said Erick had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, a Category 4 storm, up 20 mph from just a few hours earlier.
Erick was about 70 miles west-southwest of Puerto Angel, Mexico, and about 90 miles southeast of Punta Maldonado, Mexico.
The storm, which was moving northwest at 9 mph, became a hurricane Wednesday morning. In the 2 p.m. advisory, maximum sustained winds were 110 mph, just 1 mph from becoming a Category 3.
Erick is forecast to remain a major hurricane when it reaches the coast of western Oaxaca or eastern Guerrero on Thursday morning, the NHC said.
After it makes landfall, Erick is expected to move inland over southern Mexico during the day.
"Erick is now an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane, and devastating wind damage is likely where the core moves onshore," the NHC said in a discussion on the storm.
"Weather conditions are already deteriorating in the warning area, and preparations to protect life and property should have been completed."
Erick will produce heavy rainfall across portions of Central America and southwest Mexico through this week with life-threatening flooding and mudslides likely, especially in steep terrain.
The region from Acapulco to Puerto Angel remains under a hurricane warning, while a hurricane watch has been issued for the area west of Acapulco to Tecpan de Galeana.
The area between Puerto Angel to Salina Cruz, and West of Acapulco to Tecpan de Galeana, is under a tropical storm warning.
Erick will produce 8 to 16 inches of rain across the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, the NHC said.
Erick is the fifth named storm in the Pacific this year. No storms have formed in the Atlantic yet.
The hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.
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