Hurricane Patricia strengthened into an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm on Thursday as it churned toward Mexico's Pacific coast, Reuters cited the U.S. National Hurricane Center as saying on Thursday. The storm, which became a hurricane overnight, had maximum sustained winds of about 130 miles per hour (215 km per hour) as it moved toward the west-northwest at 17 mph (28 kph). Patricia was last located about 275 miles (445 km) south of the port of Manzanillo, where a hurricane warning had been issued. A tropical storm warning was in effect for the tourist resort of Puerto Vallarta. The storm was expected to gain more strength before making landfall in the hurricane warning area by Friday afternoon or evening, the Miami-based hurricane center said. Mexican emergency officials began to prepare shelters and warned people in the states of Colima, Jalisco and Michoacan to get ready for torrential rainfalls. -- SPA 22:12 LOCAL TIME 19:12 GMT تغريد
