Hurricane Rachel is now a Category 3: these are the states affected by rain, wind, and waves

Hurricane Rachel reached Category 3 this Thursday, after intensifying "rapidly" as it moved off the coast of the Mexican Pacific, according to Mexico's National Meteorological Service (SMN).

At 3:00 PM (21:00 GMT), the center of the weather phenomenon was located 390 kilometers south of Cabo San Lucas, in Baja California Sur, and 415 kilometers west-southwest of Cabo Corrientes, in Jalisco.

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Rachel had maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour, gusts of 240 kilometers per hour, and was moving west-northwest at six kilometers per hour, according to the SMN report.

The cyclone reached Category 2 during the early morning hours, almost a day after becoming a Category 1 hurricane.

Rachel formed as a tropical storm off the coast of southern Mexico and has since gained strength while moving across the Pacific.

"Rachel has intensified rapidly into a Category 3 hurricane," the agency noted, while warning of heavy rainfall and waves of up to 4 meters high.

The phenomenon is expected to cause intense rains of between 15 and 150 millimeters in Baja California Sur and Sinaloa, and very heavy rains of between 50 and 75 millimeters in Nayarit and Jalisco.

It will also cause sustained winds of 40 to 50 kilometers per hour with gusts of 60 to 70 kilometers per hour on the coasts of Baja California Sur, and 20 to 30 kilometers per hour with gusts of 40 to 60 kilometers per hour on the coasts of Sinaloa, Nayarit, and Jalisco.

The SMN warned that the rainfall generated by Rachel could cause landslides, increases in the levels of rivers and streams, overflows, and flooding in low-lying areas of the mentioned states, and urged the population to remain alert to the warnings of the authorities.

The weather phenomenon is moving off the coast of western Mexico, which was recently affected by Hurricane Polo, which accumulated more than 48 non-consecutive hours as a Category 5 before making landfall twice, first in Baja California Sur and then in Sonora.

For the 2026 season, Mexico expects between 18 and 21 named cyclones in the Pacific, of which between four and five could be major hurricanes.