Hurricane Erick carved its name into Mexico’s weather history early Thursday, striking Oaxaca state as a ferocious Category 3 hurricane — the strongest storm ever recorded to hit the country so early in the year.

Roaring ashore with winds of 125 mph, Erick made landfall about 20 miles east of Punta Maldonado just after 6 a.m. CDT, pummeling coastal communities already bracing for days under a deluge. The storm’s power comes less than a year after Hurricane Otis shocked Mexico as a Category 5 monster in nearby Acapulco.

“This is the first time a major hurricane has hit Mexico before July,” the National Hurricane Center confirmed, adding that Erick briefly reached Category 4 strength overnight with terrifying 145 mph winds just off the Pacific coast.

What’s more alarming is how quickly Erick turned vicious: it exploded from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane in just 24 hours — a phenomenon known as rapid intensification, now more common as climate change warms ocean waters.

President Claudia Sheinbaum urged residents to stay indoors and heed emergency instructions as heavy rains and dangerous winds lashed Guerrero and Oaxaca. “Authorities’ warnings fill us with fear,” said Carlos Ozuna Romero, an Acapulco local who lost his beachside restaurant to Otis and was once again stacking chairs and boarding up windows.

Though Erick is expected to weaken rapidly while crawling over Mexico’s rugged mountains, it remains a flood threat of the highest order. The National Hurricane Center warns of life-threatening flooding and mudslides, with up to 16 inches of rain possible in Guerrero’s mountain zones and up to 8 inches across coastal Oaxaca and Guerrero.

Acapulco — still scarred from Otis — narrowly avoided Erick’s strongest winds but will still feel tropical storm-force gusts up to 45 mph and could see up to 6 inches of rain, enough to trigger flash floods and landslides in an already fragile landscape.

More than 580 shelters were prepared across Guerrero, and schools in the state shut down until further notice. Meanwhile, emergency crews raced against time on Wednesday night, clearing drainage canals and cutting back brush to prevent clogged waterways from turning roads into rivers.

The East Pacific hurricane season, which officially began in mid-May, is off to a record-breaking start. Erick is already the fifth named storm and the second hurricane — milestones typically not seen until mid-July. Meanwhile, the Atlantic basin remains eerily quiet, with no storms forecast in the coming days.

As Erick’s remnants drench southern Mexico through Friday, memories of Otis and the fury of nature remain raw for many. For people like Ozuna Romero, every storm warning is more than just a forecast — it’s a painful reminder of what can be lost in a single night.