Thousands evacuated as strongest hurricane ever recorded takes aim at Mexico

Hurricane Patricia, which is a Category 5 and the strongest storm ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere, is headed for Mexico’s Pacific coastline.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center forecasts that the storm could make landfall in southwest Mexico late Friday. The Associated Press reported that in preparation of the “potentially catastrophic” event, tens of thousands along the coast have been evacuated from their homes.

Before even hitting land, Patricia is being dubbed as a “monster storm” and “most dangerous storm in history." Why? In addition to the torrential downpours expected, it will bring excessive winds. CNN noted that those wind gusts could be around 200 mph.

In terms of its power Patricia is being compared to that of Typhoon Haiyan, which wreaked havoc on the Philippines two years ago and left more than 7,300 missing or dead.

The closest hurricane Patricia can be compared to would be Hurricane Camille. That storm devastated the Gulf Coast back in 1969. Patricia is much stronger than the more recent Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and Katrina in 2005. The latter made international news for its destruction and was only a Category 3 when it made landfall.