Category 5 Hurricane Patricia strongest ever recorded in Western hemisphere

Locals and tourists were either hunkering down or trying to make last-minute escapes ahead of what forecasters called a “potentially catastrophic landfall” later in the day.

Although a few changes are definitely possible between now and when Patricia slams the shore later today, it is expected to make landfall as a category 5.

A hurricane warning is in place for much of Mexico’s Pacific Coast, including the resort cities of Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo.

The Weather Channel says the storm became “the most powerful tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere” after readings this morning.

Patricia is far more powerful than its closest contender, Hurricane Camille in 1969, or others such as Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and Katrina in 2005.

It’s already surpassed them in one way, central pressure – which essentially weighs the air above a system that’s a key measure of any storm’s strength.

The U.N.’s World Meteorological Organization said in a tweet that Patricia was comparable in intensity to Typhoon Haiyan. Exact numbers of those evacuated were not immediately available, and few people were seen going to them. CNN noted that those wind gusts could be around 200 miles per hour.

As of late Thursday night, the storm was about 200 miles (320 kilometers) south of Manzanillo, Mexico, moving northwest at 10 mph (17 kph). Specifically if your destinations are either Guadalajara or Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. A larger area, from east of Punta San Telmo to Lazaro Cardenas, is under a hurricane watch.

Mexican officials declared a state of emergency in dozens of municipalities in Colima, Nayarit and Jalisco states, and schools were closed.

The Hurricane Center said Patricia was expected to bring rainfall of 6 to 12 inches, with isolated amounts of up to 20 inches in a few locations. The threat of rain, flooding and mudslides will be the biggest killer in this storm. The number of category 5 hurricanes in the Pacific Basin has been impressive this year – but not unprecedented. The remnants will make their way across the Gulf of Mexico and into Texas and Louisiana.

Those on that Latin American country’s west coast are no stranger to tropical storms, of course.

The large hurricane is largely due to unseasonably warm ocean waters due to El Nino.

Windsor’s Mara Pricop and her family travelled to Nuevo Puerto Vallarta for a nice vacation that didn’t include facing the strongest hurricane in recorded history.

Hurricane Patricia has been warned to be making a “potentially catastrophic landfall” Friday afternoon to late evening by the meteorological center.

That’s a plus for anyone who gets brushed by the hurricane, but no consolation for those – perhaps in Manzanillo – who get hit directly.