Sandra is a Category 4 hurricane in the Eastern Pacific. The storm will hit Mexico.
Sandra breaks several records. It is the first observed Category 4 hurricane on Thanksgiving Day. It is the latest major Western Hemisphere hurricane observed. It is the latest Category 4 storm in either the eastern Pacific of Atlantic basins. Most likely, Sandra will become the latest landfalling tropical cyclone on record for Mexico.
Sandra will come near the southern time of the Baja late Friday, but will likely be a tropical storm at that point. The storm will come ashore overnight or Saturday morning as a tropical depression (or maybe a weak tropical storm) in Sinaloa. So, this may be a case of the rare Eastern Pacific hurricane reaching land, but as a rainstorm rather than a threatening tropical storm.
This year’s record tropical storm activity is rather astonishing and is a result of a combination of continued global surface warming (which is thought to contribute to an overall increase in the frequency and severity of major storms) and this year’s very strong El Niño.