Hurricane Willa upgraded to Category 5 storm off Mexico

Hurricane Willa was upgraded to a "potentially catastrophic" Category 5 storm Monday off Mexico's Pacific coast, where it was expected to produce life-threatening wind and flooding, the US National Hurricane Center said. The powerful hurricane was on course to slam into Mexico somewhere around the resort town of Mazatlan on Tuesday afternoon or evening, the NHC said in its 1500 GMT advisory.
It now has maximum sustained winds of 260 kilometers (160 miles) per hour, making it a maximum Category 5 hurricane, it said.
"Slight weakening is forecast to begin on Tuesday, but Willa is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it reaches the coast of Mexico," it said.
Willa is expected to dump 15 to 30 centimeters (six to 12 inches) of rain on parts of Jalisco, Nayarit and Sinaloa states, with some areas getting up to 45 centimeters (18 inches), it said. "This rainfall will cause life-threatening flash flooding and landslides," it warned.