This GOES East satellite image provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Willa in the eastern Pacific, on a path towards Mexico's Pacific coast. Photo / AP
An intensifying and dangerous hurricane in tropical eastern Pacific Ocean is set to slam into Mexico's west coast tomorrow.
With sustained winds of 257km/h and an estimated central pressure of 925 millibars, Hurricane Willa reached "potentially catastrophic" Category five intensity today, the National Hurricane Centre said.
The storm is expected
to crash ashore between Mazatlan (to the north) and Puerto Vallarta (to the south) tomorrow.
Although Willa is unlikely to directly hit those two population centres, several moderately sized cities are near its path, such as Escuinapa, Mexico, with roughly 30,000 residents.
Hurricane warnings stretch from San Blas to Mazatlan along Mexico's coast, including Las Islas Marias.
