Major hurricane Trudy keeps strengthening as it nears Mexico's Pacific coast

Trudy has the potential to even reach Category 4 or 5 intensity, says hurricane meteorologist

Hurricane Trudy rapidly intensified into a major hurricane on Friday morning, carrying ​maximum sustained winds near 120 mph (195 kph) and ​higher gusts, as it moves closer to Mexico's Pacific ⁠coast.

Additional strengthening is still forecast before Trudy is expected ​to approach the Mexican coast on Saturday as a life-threatening ​major hurricane, the US-based National Hurricane Centre said.

"Trudy has the potential to even reach Category 4 or 5 intensity," said Alex DaSilva, a ​hurricane meteorologist at private forecaster AccuWeather.

Mexico's civil protection agency ​asked residents to start preparations for the storm's arrival by securing doors ‌and ⁠windows, and removing objects that could be thrown around by the strong winds.

Read: Little damage as Hurricane Polo sweeps over Mexico's Pacific coast

The hurricane will strike Mexico's Pacific coast, a region that has already been battered in recent weeks ​by storms ​that left several ⁠dead and caused severe flooding.

Located about 250 miles (400 km) south-southwest of the resort city of Acapulco, ​the storm is expected to produce up to ​12 ⁠inches (30 cm) of rain in the states of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco, increasing the risk of life-threatening flooding and landslides, ⁠according ​to the NHC.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Simon ​continues to weaken farther northwest offshore, after dropping heavy rain along the coast earlier ​as a hurricane.