MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Hurricane Lidia strengthened on Tuesday as it barrels towards Mexico’s Pacific coast, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), where beach towns popular with tourists face a significant downpour expected to begin later in the afternoon.
The NHC described Lidia as a “major hurricane” and issued a warning due to dangerous hurricane-force winds.
The storm, now at Category 3 status, is located about 155 miles (249 km) southwest of popular resort city Puerto Vallarta, the Miami-based NHC reported in its latest bulletin.
The center estimated that Lidia is moving east-northeast at 15 miles-per-hour (24 kph) and packing maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph).
The center added that it expects Lidia’s movement to quicken throughout the day and night, with the eye of the hurricane expected to strike land on Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning.
It will likely hit the coast “at or near major hurricane strength,” according to the NHC.
(Reporting by Raul Cortes Fernandez and Brendan O’Boyle; editing by Stephen Eisenhammer)
