Acapulco cut off by Cat-5 Hurricane Otis which caught forecasters by surprise
The IndependentSign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Hurricane Otis roared ashore in southern Mexico, the strongest-ever storm to make landfall on the country’s west coast. The hurricane underwent explosive intensification from a Category 1 to Category 5 in just 12 hours in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, catching forecasters by surprise. “There are no hurricanes on record even close to this intensity for this part of Mexico,” read one NHC update, late on Tuesday, as a flurry of alerts were issued. While it is still too early to say what impact the climate crisis had on this individual weather event, record-breaking ocean temperatures are fuelling stronger and more destructive cyclones in general.