CNN —Hurricane Otis is expected to make landfall Wednesday morning as a Category 5 storm near Acapulco in Mexico, threatening to lash the coastal region with destructive winds, heavy rainfall and potentially “catastrophic storm surge,” forecasters say.
Landfall is expected by early Wednesday near or just west of the city, a beach resort town on Mexico’s Pacific coast, the hurricane center said.
The heavy rainfall could lead to flash and urban flooding as well as mudslides in higher terrain areas, the hurricane center warned.
If Otis makes landfall as a Category 5 hurricane, it would be the first Category 5 landfall for the East Pacific, according to the NOAA Hurricane Database.
The previous strongest landfall was Hurricane Patricia in 2015, which made landfall as a Category 4 Hurricane with winds of 150 mph.
Persons:
Hurricane Otis, Otis, cnnweather Otis ’, Phil Klotzbach, Patricia
Organizations:
CNN, Hurricane, Punta Maldonado, Colorado State University, East, NOAA, Otis
Locations:
Acapulco, Mexico, Punta, Zihuatanejo, Lagunas, Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo