Erick became an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane early Thursday, as it crossed the Pacific Ocean en route to western Mexican two days after becoming a named storm.

Hurricane Erick strengthened in the Pacific Ocean and could become a major hurricane before striking Mexico, the National Hurricane Center warned.

Hurricane Erick, which rapidly intensified overnight, made landfall Thursday morning on Mexico's Pacific Coast as a powerful Category 3 storm, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Erick came ashore in Mexico's western state of Oaxaca packing sustained winds of 125 mph and heavy rain,