NIGHTMARE SCENARIO: Hurricane Otis unexpectedly strengthens to Cat. 5 just before landfall near Acapulco, Mexico

Hurricane Otis made landfall near Acapulco, Mexico early Wednesday morning with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph -- making Otis the strongest hurricane to make landfall in Mexico.

While that fact in itself is astonishing, Otis remarkably -- and unexpectedly -- strengthened from a weak tropical storm to a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane in just 12 hours, leaving those in a city of over a million people essentially no time to evacuate.

Otis struck Acapulco and the Mexican state of Guerrero overnight Tuesday into Wednesday before rapidly weakening over mountainous terrain. There have yet to be reports of injuries or deaths, but pictures and videos posted to X -- formerly Twitter -- show extensive damage early Wednesday morning:

The unexpected rapid intensification of Otis from tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane within 12 hours is extremely rare, especially in an age where hurricane forecasts have improved greatly. Listen to the serious tone from the National Hurricane Center’s Tuesday 10 p.m. forecast discussion, just before Otis made landfall:

“A nightmare scenario is unfolding for southern Mexico this evening with rapidly intensifying Otis approaching the coastline...Otis has explosively intensified 95 kt (109 mph) during the past 24 hours, a mark only exceeded in modern times by Patricia in 2015...

This is an extremely serious situation for the Acapulco metropolitan area with the core of the destructive hurricane likely to come near or over that large city early on Wednesday. There are no hurricanes on record even close to this intensity for this part of Mexico.”

NHC's 10 pm Tuesday Forecast Discussion

While Otis is the strongest hurricane to hit Mexico and Acapulco, the city was devastated by 1997′s Category 4 Hurricane Pauline, when over 200 people were killed and hundreds more were injured.

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