[World] ‘Extremely dangerous’ Hurricane Lidia heads towards Mexico’s Pacific coast

An “extremely dangerous” hurricane is barrelling towards Mexico’s Pacific coast, forecasters have warned.

Hurricane Lidia, a Category 4 strength storm, is expected to make landfall on Tuesday night.

It is expected to hit with winds of up to 140mph (220km/h) and bring up to 12 inches (30cm) of rain.

In its latest bulletin, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Lidia was about 110 miles (177km) southwest of the city of Puerto Vallarta.

The city’s airport announced it would be closed from 16:00 local time (22:00 GMT) until 08:00 on Wednesday.

Shopkeepers in the seaside resort have boarded up windows and piled up sandbags in case of flooding, while school classes have been suspended in some areas.

Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said civil protection personnel were on alert and around 6,000 members of the armed forces had been deployed to help residents.

Forecasters at the NHC say Lidia – currently a Category 4 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale which goes up to five – is expected to make landfall in west-central Mexico as a major hurricane on Tuesday.

It is moving east-northeast at a speed of 16mph (26kph) with maximum sustained winds of 140mph (220km/h), the centre added in its bulletin at 15:30 eastern time.

Heavy rainfall of up to 12 inches (30cm) will likely produce flash and urban flooding alongside possible mudslides in areas of higher terrain across the state of Nayarit, southern parts of the state of Sinaloa, and coastal areas of Jalisco state in western Mexico.

The strength of Lidia’s winds, however, are expected to weaken rapidly after it moves inland.

Parts of Mexico’s Pacific coastline have already seen significant flooding this week after Tropical Storm Max hit. Local media reports that two people died as a result of the storm in the state of Guerrero.

Hurricanes hit Mexico every year on both its Pacific and Atlantic coasts. The country’s official hurricane season runs from May to November, with most storms developing between July and October.

The impact of climate change on the frequency of storms is still unclear, but scientists say that increased sea surface temperatures warm the air above and make more energy available to drive hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons.

As a result, they are likely to be more intense with more extreme rainfall.

The world has already warmed by about 1.1C (33.98F) since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.