@...@Hurricane Patricia strengthened into an **extremely dangerous** Category 5 storm late on Thursday as it churned toward Mexico*s Pacific coast, the U//S// National Hurricane Center (NHC) said//
It is now the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Western hemisphere and the third strongest recorded on Earth// Patricia will likely set the planet*s record of strongest landfilling storm later on Friday//
@...@The storm, which became a hurricane overnight, had maximum sustained winds of about 160 miles per hour (260 km per hour) as it moved toward the north~northwest at 10 mph (16 kph)//
Patricia was last located about 200 miles (320 km) south~southwest of the port of Manzanillo, where a hurricane warning had been issued// A hurricane warning was also in effect for the beach resort of Puerto Vallarta//