Tourists may want to leave: Category 5 hurricane approaching !

Mexican authorities have begun moving residents and closing ports in parts of the country’s Pacific coast ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Patricia.

The strongest winds recorded in a landfalling eastern Pacific tropical system came from an unnamed hurricane that struck the same area of Mexico in October 1959…

At 1:30 a.m. ET, Patricia was about 185 miles south-southwest of Manzanillo, and about 270 miles south of Cabo Corrientes.

By early on Friday, Patricia’s maximum sustained winds had increased to 320km/h – a category five storm, the highest designation on the Saffir-Simpson scale used to quantify a hurricane’s wind strength.

Mexico’s Pacific Coast is threatened by Category 4 Hurricane Patricia, the evacuation of thousands of people has been launched.

A tropical storm warning is also in effect from east of Punta San Telmo to Lazaro Cardenas.

A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions are expected in the warning area within 48 hours.

The storm has been packing sustained winds of around 260 kilometres per hour and is expected to make landfall by Friday evening.

In addition to its powerful winds, Patricia is expected to dump 8 to 12 inches of rain – and possibly 20 inches in a few spots – along the Mexican coast. Forecasters also considered Patricia’s rapid growth “a remarkable feat”, also adding that only one other hurricane – Linda in 1997 – has achieved such a dramatic change in intensity.

A Category 5 storm can create life-threatening flash floods and mud slides, rip the walls and roofs off buildings, and cause power outages lasting for weeks to months, the hurricane center said. CONAGUA, the Mexican national water commission, predicted waves up to 39 feet at landfall.

A few weakening was forecast before then, but the Hurricane Center said it would still be “extremely dangerous” when it makes landfall.