Hurricane Rachel strengthens to Category 2 off of Mexico's Pacific Coast

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Another storm strengthened into a Category 2 cyclone off Mexico's Pacific coast on Thursday morning at the same time northern Mexico and parts of the southwest were reeling from flooding and damages from Hurricane Polo earlier this week.

Hurricane Rachel was located about 230 miles (370 kilometers) off the southern tip of Baja California on Thursday, chugging forward at 6 mph (9kph) as a powerful hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center. The center reported winds of 105 mph (165) kph.

Rachel was projected to move along the Mexican coastline before veering west in the Pacific.

Mexican authorities said Thursday that, as Hurricane Rachel moves across the Pacific, they remain on alert due to forecasts of very heavy rain in the states of Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, and Jalisco, and the possibility of landslides, rising river levels, overflowing rivers, and flooding in low-lying areas.

The Pacific has seen an unusually busy hurricane season, which experts have attributed to El Niño , which has fueled crippling droughts in Mexico and Central America and floods in other parts of the region. In the Pacific, it has resulted in warmer waters and wind patterns that act as fodder for hurricanes.

While Mexico's Sonora state was left reeling from flooding and winds, rain swept across the U.S. Southwest this week, causing desert rivers to surge.