Otis made landfall early Wednesday on Mexico’s coast near Acapulco, a city of about 1 million people, as a Category 5 hurricane — the fastest strengthening on record in the northeast Pacific. Hurricane warnings stretched from Punta Maldonado north to Zihuatanejo along the southern portion of Mexico’s west coast in the state of Guerrero.
End of carouselOtis grew from a tropical storm Tuesday morning to a Category 5 hurricane by the evening, with winds measuring up to 165 mph, before weakening to a Category 4 as it moved inland.
“This is an extremely serious situation for the Acapulco metropolitan area,” the National Hurricane Center wrote Tuesday evening. The storm’s torrential rain was forecast to produce widespread totals of 8 to 16 inches, and localized amounts up to 20 inches through Friday.
Otis became the fastest strengthening storm on record in the northeast Pacific since 1966, after peak winds increased more than 80 mph in 12 hours, said Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University. Storms that intensify as rapidly as Otis are most difficult to prepare for as they leave little time for governments to warn residents and for emergency management to mobilize resources.
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