Hurricane Erick is forecast to strike the southern coast of Mexico on Thursday as a major Category 3 hurricane with winds of 125 mph or more.
After becoming a hurricane in the eastern Pacific Ocean early on June 18, the storm continued to organize throughout the day, forming a clear eye on satellite images, the National Hurricane Center said. Erick's maximum estimated wind speeds increased by 45 mph in just 12 hours on Wednesday.
By 9 p.m., Erick's winds were an estimated 125 mph. The second hurricane of the Pacific season, was about 55 miles southwest of Puerto Angel, Mexico on Wednesday evening, moving northwestward at about 9 mph. The hurricane is expected to arrive along the coast east of Acapulco with destructive winds, life threatening storm surge and flash flooding.
The center's update said the intensity forecast was "a little uncertain" because the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft had to abort its flight early because of a computer problem.
Although the hurricane's intensity might fluctuate in the hours before landfall, it's possible it could strengthen further, the center stated. But the system is expected to rapidly fall apart after landfall and dissipate into a tropical depression over southern Mexico by Thursday evening. Erick is not expected to pose any problems for the U.S.
