(CNN) – With 200-mph sustained winds and even more powerful gusts, Hurricane Patricia was the strongest hurricane ever recorded by the U.S. National Hurricane Center as it bore down Friday on Mexico’s Pacific coast.
The Miami-based meteorological center, in its 8 a.m. advisory, warned of a “potentially catastrophic landfall in southwestern Mexico” later Friday. While its strength could fluctuate, “Patricia is expected to remain an extremely dangerous Category 5 hurricane through landfall.”
Patricia has potential to cause massive death and destruction to a large swath of the Mexican Pacific coast, including the tourist hot spots of Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco.
Heavy rains forecast for this weekend have prompted weather forecasters to issue flash flood warnings for all of south Texas.
The heaviest rains, swirling in from the Gulf of Mexico, are expected to fall on Saturday, perhaps into Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. The service predicts that one to three inches of rain will fall along the Rio Grande, and five to seven inches may fall along the state’s coastal bend.
Historic flooding hit Texas in May, killing more than 20 people and prompting President Barack Obama to declare a major disaster. But this weekend’s weather, while potentially dangerous in spots, is not expected to be anywhere near that severe.
The National Weather Service is warning of flash flooding of roads and low-lying areas and said the potential exists for minor to moderate river flooding — particularly along the Rio Grande and perhaps the Nuces River near Tilden, which is about 70 miles south of San Antonio.
