Hurricane Erick makes landfall in Mexico as major Category 3 storm

Having doubled in strength in less than a day and still expected to grow further, Hurricane Erick on Wednesday chugged through the ideal environment to power up quickly as it approached Mexico’s southern Pacific Coast.

PUERTO ESCONDIDO, Mexico — Hurricane Erick made landfall early Thursday on the Pacific coast of Mexico as a major Category 3 storm, the National Hurricane Center said.

Erick made landfall after 6 a.m. CT in extreme western Oaxaca, just east of Punta Maldonado, with estimated maximum sustained winds near 125 mph, the center reported.

It had rapidly intensified from a Category 1 hurricane yesterday to an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 146 mph.

A major hurricane is defined as Category 3 or higher and wind speeds of at least 111 mph.

The storm is moving northwest at nearly 9 mph, the hurricane center said in its 7 a.m. ET update.