In 30 hours, Patricia has gone from a tropical storm to the strongest hurricane ever recorded. And it might not be done strengthening yet. On Friday morning, the storm is churning out eye-popping 200 mph sustained winds and is expected to make landfall in Mexico as an “extremely dangerous” Category 5 storm, according to the National Hurricane Cent
MoreHurricane Patricia is a meteorological marvel but also poses a significant threat to Mexico’s west coast and points inland as it comes ashore on Friday evening. The storm’s record winds have the potential to create massive devastation while storm surge and inland flooding from rain could further up Patricia’s damage.
Landfall is likely to be somewhere south of Puerto Vallarta. All flights have been canceled coming into the region and some airlines have already worked to get those staying in the region out of harms ways. The Mexican government has also started to evacuate thousands from the region likely to be impacted by Patricia, though there are roughly 2.7 million people in the storms path, the equivalent of the Tampa metro area.
Despite the relatively small area of Category 5 winds, the storm still poses an immense danger as it moves ashore on Friday night. The combination of storm surge and rain — in addition to winds — are likely to cause “life threatening flash floods and mud slides,” according to the National Hurricane Center.
The true fury of a Category 5 storm is something thankfully few people have experienced. YouTube Newswire has provided links to live webcams in the region that can show how truly dangerous and impactful a storm of this magnitude can be. (And it cannot be stressed enough that anyone in the region should seek sound shelter before the storm)
Puerto Vallarta
Though the storm’s worst impacts are likely to be south of the tourist hub, Puerto Vallarta is still likely to see some of Patricia’s winds and a lot of its rain. Webcams de Mexico has a still camera taking pictures of the bay and on Friday afternoon, the waters were already becoming muddy from sediment being stirred up and early rain squalls pouring across the region.
A still image from Friday afternoon of Puerto Vallarta, which is already seeing muddy waters from Patricia's rain and wind.
Colima
Colima is located inland from where the storm is expected to make landfall. The winds will not be as intense there, but it’s in a swath of area that could see up to 20 inches of rain from the storm.
La Manzanilla Beach
Additionally, an EarthCam on the beach in La Manzanilla shows the view of the beach in the vicinity of where Patricia could make landfall. The ocean is calm there as of late afternoon, but is likely to be hit by a portion of a storm surge event that could reach 16.5 feet in some locations.
A view from the Earthcam in La Manzanilla at 5:15 p.m. local time on Friday afternoon.
