Hurricane Patricia has rapidly strengthened into a major category four hurricane as it spirals closer to the Pacific coast of Mexico, forecasters say. <\/p>\n
The National Hurricane Center said data from a Hurricane Hunter aircraft had indicated that Patricia’s maximum sustained winds had increased to near 130 miles (215 kilometers) per hour, with higher gusts. “Patricia is an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some additional strengthening is forecast through early Friday, and Patricia is expected to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through landfall,” the center said.<\/p>\n
As of 1 p.m. CT on Thursday, the eye of Hurricane Patricia was located about 240 miles (385 kilometers) south-southwest of Lazaro Cardenas, a port city in the Mexican state of Michoac\u00e1n. The storm is moving toward the west-northwest at a speed near 17 miles (28 kilometers) per hour, and this motion is expected to continue throughout Thursday, followed by a turn toward the northwest and then toward the north on Friday, which will move it closer to land.<\/p>\n
Patricia is expected to make landfall on Mexico’s Pacific coast on Friday.<\/p>\n
A hurricane warning is in effect from Cabo Corrientes to Punta San Telmo. A hurricane watch is in effect from the east of Punta San Telmo to Lazaro Cardenas, and from the north of Cabo Corrientes to San Blas. A tropical storm warning is in effect from the east of Punta San Telmo to Lazaro Cardenas, and from the north of Cabo Corrientes to San Blas. A tropical storm watch is in effect from the east of Lazaro Cardenas to Tecpan De Galeana.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hurricane Patricia has rapidly strengthened into a major category four hurricane as it spirals closer to the Pacific coast of Mexico, forecasters say. The National Hurricane Center said data from a Hurricane Hunter aircraft had indicated that Patricia’s maximum sustained winds had increased to near 130 miles (215 kilometers) per hour, with higher gusts. “Patricia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[484,483,433,435,434],"class_list":["post-3474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world","tag-hurricane-patricia-2015","tag-mexico","tag-pacific-hurricane-season","tag-pacific-ocean","tag-weather"],"yoast_head":"\n