Major hurricane Trudy keeps strengthening as it nears Mexico's Pacific coast

Oct 16 — Hurricane Trudy rapidly intensified into a major hurricane ​on Friday morning, carrying maximum sustained winds near 120 mph (195 kph) and higher gusts, as ‌it moves closer to Mexico's Pacific coast.

Additional strengthening is still forecast ⁠before Trudy is ​expected to approach the Mexican ⁠coast on Saturday as a life-threatening major ‌hurricane, the US-based ‌National Hurricane Center said.

"Trudy has the potential to ⁠even reach Category 4 ⁠or 5 intensity," said Alex DaSilva, a hurricane meteorologist at private forecaster AccuWeather.

Mexico's civil protection agency asked residents to start preparations for the storm's arrival by securing doors and windows, and ‌removing objects that could be ​thrown around by the strong winds.

The hurricane will strike Mexico's Pacific coast, a region that has already been battered in recent weeks by storms that left several dead and caused severe flooding.

Located about 250 miles (400 km) south-southwest of resort ​city Acapulco, the storm is expected to produce ‌up to 12 ‌inches (30 ⁠cm) of rain in the states of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco, increasing the risk of life-threatening flooding and landslides, according to the NHC.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Simon ‌continues to weaken farther ​northwest offshore, after dropping ‌heavy rain along the ⁠coast ​earlier as a hurricane.

(Reporting by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Editing by ​Toby Chopra)

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