Hurricane WIlla is increasing in strength

Hurricane Willa has developed into a life-threatening storm as it barrels towards west Mexico in the eastern Pacific ocean.

The hurricane intensified into a Category 5 storm on Monday afternoon as it was expected to make landfall Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning between Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta, prompting the governments of Sinaloa and Nayarit to prepare emergency shelters. Meanwhile, the US National Hurricane Centre has warned Hurricane Willa may "produce life-threatening storm surge, wind and rainfall over portions of southwestern and west-central Mexico beginning on Tuesday."

The potentially catastrophic storm could also produce "extremely dangerous" conditions like storm surge and rip tides along Mexico’s coastline, forecasters warned early Monday, as Hurricane Willa sustained winds of 155 miles per hour. The western Nayarit and southern Sinaloa states could see up to 18 inches of rain, along with parts of western Jalisco.

Follow along with our live coverage of Hurricane Willa.

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