A category 5, the strongest hurricane ever recorded,

Patricia, the strongest hurricane ever recorded, near maximum intensity, October 23, 2015. (NOAA)
Early Friday, the behemoth Hurricane Patricia became the strongest hurricane ever measured by the National Hurricane Center. Patricia is forecast to make landfall on Mexico’s west central coast late Friday with destructive winds, torrents of rain, and a devastating storm surge.

The Category 5 storm’s maximum sustained winds strengthened to an astonishing 200 mph. “This makes Patricia the strongest hurricane on record in the National Hurricane Center’s area of responsibility (AOR) which includes the Atlantic and the eastern North Pacific basins,” NHC said. “The minimum central pressure estimated from the aircraft data, 880 mb, is the lowest ever for our AOR.”

The projected path may hit the areas with the largest population in the country.

Hurricane #Patricia's central pressure of 880mb is the lowest for any tropical cyclone globally for over 30 years. pic.twitter.com/AL7Ia6dIqF

— Met Office Storms (@metofficestorms) October 23, 2015

Pray for Mexico.