Hurricane Patricia is making its way inland this evening after making landfall on Mexico’s west coast about 55 miles northwest of Manzanillo. The storm had astonishing winds of 165 MPH at landfall. Patricia became the strongest hurricane ever recorded after it maxed-out with 200 MPH winds for about 18 hours on Friday. The storm is also one of the strongest to ever make landfall in North America.

The only good news—if there is any, here—is that Patricia made landfall in between two major cities (Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo) on a strip of land that is less populated than its surroundings. However, this will be a devastating storm for numerous small communities in the path of the hurricane, with catastrophic wind damage, a deep storm surge, and extensive inland flooding likely, especially as the storm runs against higher terrain, exacerbating rainfall totals and leading to the possibility of life-threatening land- and mudslides.

The remnants of Patricia might survive the mountainous terrain of central Mexico, reemerging over Texas or the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday. Depending on the track of the remnants (or remnant moisture), continued heavy rain could lead to more flash flooding in places like eastern Texas and Louisiana.

[Satellite Image: NASA]

Email: dennis.mersereau@gawker.com | Twitter: @wxdam

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