Hurricane Otis is expected to make landfall near Acapulco, Mexico as a Category 5 storm.

CNN
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Hurricane Otis, a Category 5 storm, is expected to make landfall Wednesday morning near Acapulco, Mexico, threatening to hit the coastal region with damaging winds and possibly a “catastrophic storm surge,” forecasters say.

As of Tuesday night, Otis was carrying winds of 160 mph with higher gusts while its core was about 55 miles southeast of Acapulco, moving north-northwest at 9 mph. Landfall is expected by early Wednesday near or just west of the city, a beach resort on Mexico’s Pacific coast, the hurricane center said.

A hurricane warning is in effect for the coast of Punta Maldonado westbound to Zihuatanejo. Hurricane watches and tropical storm warnings are also active from Lagunas de Chacahua to Punta Maldonado.

The main threats to Otis are damaging winds, heavy rain, and dangerous storm surge.

Strong winds of up to 73 mph are expected to reach Mexico Pacific The coast on Tuesday evening and then spread to other areas throughout the day on Wednesday.

Otis is also expected to create life-threatening surf and ripping current conditions. The Hurricane Center explained that hurricane-force winds extend outward for a distance of up to 30 miles from the center, while tropical storm-force winds extend outward for a distance of up to 70 miles.

These winds are expected to combine with a “potentially catastrophic storm surge” that could cause life-threatening coastal flooding near where it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday morning.

“Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large, damaging waves,” the hurricane center said.

In addition, from 8 to 16 Heavy rain is expected through the end of the week, with some areas seeing up to 20 inches of rain. The Hurricane Center warned that heavy rainfall could lead to flash floods and flooding in urban areas as well as mudslides in higher areas.

If Otis makes landfall as a Category 5 hurricane, it will be the first Category 5 landfall in the eastern Pacific Ocean, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hurricane database. The previous strongest drop was Hurricane Patricia in 2015Which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 mph.