Mexico is bracing for a potential catastrophe as Hurricane Patricia moves ashore. Early Friday, the storm dropped below pressure records set by Hurricane Wilma in 2005. The lower the pressure within a hurricane, the stronger the winds. Sustained wind topped out at 200 mph this morning with wind gusts to 250 mph. That is the equivalent of an EF-5 tornado, the strongest possible. But this isn’t a tornado, this will produce wind damage dozens, if not hundreds of miles wide!
Patricia has potential to cause massive death and destruction over a large swath of the Mexican Pacific coast, including the tourist hot spots of Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco. Guadalajara could see tropical storm and hurricane-force winds, even with a geography more than 100 miles away from the Pacific Ocean.
