MEXICO CITY — The first hurricane of the season formed off Mexico's southern Pacific coast Sunday and rapidly gained power ahead of an expected strike along a stretch of tourist beaches and fishing towns as a major storm.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Agatha was expected to make landfall as a powerful Category 3 hurricane Monday afternoon or evening in the area near Puerto Escondido and Puerto Angel in the southern state of Oaxaca — a region that includes the laid-back tourist resorts of Huatulco, Mazunte and Zipolite.
The center warned that the hurricane could deliver a dangerous storm surge.
TRACKING THE TROPICS: Hurricane Center | Hurricane Guide
By late Sunday, the recently formed hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph) — just 1 mph under the threshold for a Category 3, the hurricane center said. Agatha was centered about 140 miles southwest of Puerto Angel and heading to the northeast at 6 mph.
The center said Agatha could have winds of 120 mph when it makes landfall.
A hurricane warning was in effect between the port of Salina Cruz and the Lagunas de Chacahua.
Because the storm's current path would carry it over the narrow waist of Mexico’s isthmus, the hurricane center said there was a chance the storm’s remnants could reemerge over the Gulf of Mexico.
