Hurricane Rachel strengthens to a Category 3 storm off Mexico’s Pacific coast

MEXICO CITY — Hurricane Rachel has been upgraded to a Category 3 storm off Mexico’s Pacific coast as northern Mexico and parts of the U.S. Southwest were reeling from flooding and damage from the remnants of Hurricane Polo earlier this week.

The storm, located about 245 miles off the southern tip of Baja California, is slowly continuing westward at 3 mph and expected to strengthen in the next day before weakening this weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The maximum sustained winds were 120 mph Thursday afternoon. Rachel’s swells are expected to generate life-threatening surf and rip-current conditions off Mexico’s coast, the NHC warned.

Mexican authorities said Thursday they remain on alert because of forecasts of very heavy rain in the states of Baja California Sur, Sinaloa and Jalisco and the possibility of landslides, rising river levels, overflowing rivers and flooding in low-lying areas.

On Wednesday night, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico warned U.S. citizens in Cabos San Lucas, a popular vacation destination for Americans, of beach and port closures and deadly rip currents.

The Pacific has seen an unusually busy hurricane season, which experts have attributed to El Niño, which has fueled crippling droughts in Mexico and Central…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business