Hurricane Max made landfall on Mexico’s southern Pacific coast Thursday bearing down near a region popular with tourists that includes resorts like Acapulco, Ixtapa, and Zihuatanejo.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning for Max for the coastline between Zihuatanejo and Punta Maldonado.
The center said Max should weaken as it moves over land but could bring ‘life-threatening flash floods and rainfall’ to Guerrero and Oaxaca states.
Max had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, was located about 55 miles east-southeast of Acapulco, and was heading toward the east at 8 mph, the hurricane center reported.
The satellite image above shows Hurricane Max (right) and Tropical Storm Norma (left) on Thursday. Max made landfall in Mexico, whipping its Pacific coast with winds of 80 miles per hour. The Category One storm hit the coast of southwestern Guerrero state
The hurricane is expected to pour heavy rain on neighboring Oaxaca, still suffering the effects of a massive earthquake last week. Above a man tries to ride his motorcycle through the flooding in Acapulco Thursday
The U.S. National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning for Max for the coastline between Zihuatanejo and Punta Maldonado.
The hurricane center said Max should weaken as it moves over land. Above people walk under a downpour on a flooded street in Acapulco on Thursday
Officials say Max could bring ‘life-threatening flash floods and rainfall’ to Guerrero and Oaxaca states. Above a man wades through a street flooded by the intense rains of Hurricane Max in Acapulco Thursday
Max had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, and was located about 55 miles east-southeast of Acapulco, the hurricane center reported. Above a resident tries to ride his motorcycle through the water Thursday in Acapulco
The hurricane center reported that Max was heading toward the east at 8 mph. Above taxi speeds along a rain-flooded street in Acapulco on Thursday
The area where Max is making landfall is a sparsely populated area dotted with fishing villages.
Acapulco, about 30 miles from where the hurricane made landfall, was hit by strong winds and rain that blew down some branches on the city’s coastal boulevard.
The storm could be bad news for Acapulco as the city prepares to host tourists who travel to the city to celebrate Mexico’s Independence Day celebrations which are this weekend.
In the state of Guerrero, home to some of Mexico’s major tourist resorts, Max could dump as much as 10 inches of rain, the NHC said.
AccuWeather Meteorologist Steve D. Travis said: ‘Max will bring the biggest threat for flooding across the state of Guerrero, including Acapulco, into Friday morning’
Max (above right) is expected to weaken as Tropical Storm Norma (left) is located about 360 miles south of the twin resorts of Los Cabos at the peninsula’s southern tip
Fishermen take their boats out of the sea in anticipation of the arrival of Hurricane Max in Puerto Marquez on Thursday
In the state of Guerrero, home to some of Mexico’s major tourist resorts, Max could dump as much as 10 inches of rain. Pictured above are fallen trees on the Miguel Aleman coast, in Acapulco on Thursday
Max arrives a week after a powerful 8.1 magnitude quake shook southern Mexico, destroying buildings in the state of Oaxaca and killing at least 98 people nationwide. Above an Acapulco, beach is pictured on Thursday
Above a soldier stands guard atop a vehicle along the street in Acapulco Thursday
Max arrives a week after a powerful 8.1 magnitude quake shook southern Mexico, destroying buildings in the state of Oaxaca and killing at least 98 people nationwide. Category 1 is the lowest level on the five-tier Saffir-Simpson scale that measures hurricane wind speeds.
Also Thursday, Tropical Storm Norma formed farther out to the west in the Pacific and was expected to strengthen and head toward the resort-studded Baja California Peninsula.
A man looks out at the Pacific Ocean after heavy waves caused by approaching Hurricane Max took away part of the beach in Pie de La Cuesta, on the outskirts of Acapulco on Thursday
A billboard knocked down by strong winds is seen before the arrival of Hurricane Max in Puerto Marquez on Thursday
Norma was located about 360 miles south of the twin resorts of Los Cabos at the peninsula’s southern tip. The storm had winds of 45 mph and was moving north at 6 mph. On that track, Norma could be at hurricane strength near Los Cabos by Sunday or Monday.
Los Cabos was hit by Tropical Storm Lidia in early September, causing at least five deaths.
Learn more about the most powerful hurricanes to ever hit Mexico.