Hurricane Erick strengthens with 100-mph winds as it rapidly intensifies in Eastern Pacific
Erick is expected to bring life-threatening flooding and damaging wind gusts to parts of the southern coast of Mexico starting late Wednesday night into Thursday.
Bryan Norcross: Hurricane Erick brings 'all kinds of threats' to Mexico
Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross provides his analysis of Hurricane Erick, which is forecast to continue to strengthen into a major, Category 3, hurricane by late Wednesday.
Hurricane Erick is rapidly intensifying in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and is about 85 miles south-southeast of Puerto Angel, Mexico, and is now forecast to become a major hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
A major hurricane is defined as a Category 3, 4 or 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Erick is currently a Category 2 hurricane with 110 mph sustained winds, just shy of a Category 3 storm.
It is expected to bring life-threatening flooding and damaging wind gusts to parts of the southern coast of Mexico starting late Wednesday night into Thursday.
7 FACTS TO KNOW ABOUT HURRICANES
Erick begins to rapidly intensify before landfall
Erick is the fifth named storm of this year's Eastern Pacific hurricane season, and is forecast to be the first named storm in either the Atlantic or Eastern Pacific basins to make landfall.
The NHC said that Erick is beginning to rapidly intensify and is forecast to reach major hurricane status late Wednesday night with possible continued strengthening overnight. Rapid intensification occurs when a tropical cyclone's maximum sustained winds increase by at least 35 mph within 24 hours.
Hurricane Hunters take off on first mission of 2025 hurricane season
The Air Force Reserve’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, aka the Hurricane Hunters, flew its first operational mission of the season on Wednesday heading to gather data on Hurricane Erick in the Eastern Pacific. The WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft departed Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi kicking off the first mission of an active storm season.
It is expected to approach the coast of southern Mexico by Wednesday night and move inland or be near the coast on Thursday, according to the NHC.
HOW ARE HURRICANES RATED? THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SCALE EXPLAINED
As Erick approached Mexico on Wednesday, the Air Force Reserve’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron's Hurricane Hunters flew their first operational mission of the season into the storm, heading to gather data for the National Hurricane Center.
Life-threatening flash flooding possible along southern coast of Mexico
Mexico's government has issued a Hurricane Warning from Puerto Angel to Acapulco, with other tropical weather alerts issued both south and north of the expected landfall location along the country's southern coast.
The NHC also warned that storm surge is expected to produce life-threatening coastal flooding as early as Wednesday night; swells and rip currents are also expected at that time.
Mexico's electric operator CFE National prepares to respond to outages from Hurricane Erick in Oaxaca and Guerrero. (CFE Nacional / FOX Weather)
"Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion," wrote the NHC in a Wednesday morning outlook, regarding areas within the Hurricane Watch.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo took to X on Tuesday to ask residents to be aware of the latest conditions and alerts ahead of the storm making landfall.
WHAT TO DO WHEN HURRICANE OR TROPICAL STORM WATCHES AND WARNINGS ARE ISSUED FOR YOUR TOWN
Heavy rain from Hurricane Erick could produce mudslides
The NHC forecast 8-16 inches of rain will fall close to the coast. Localized pockets of up to 20 inches of rain are possible in the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero.
The NHC warned that the heavy rain could produce life-threatening mudslides along the mountainous terrain that hugs Mexico's southern coast.
The Eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 to Nov. 30.