Hurricane Trudy strengthens to a Category 3 storm off Mexico's Pacific coast

BREAKING: Hurricane Trudy strengthens to a major Category 3 storm off Mexico's Pacific coast, with 120 mph winds and a hurricane warning in effect from Cabo Corrientes to Punta San Telmo.

Hurricane Trudy is now a Category 3 storm with 120 mile an hour winds, bearing down on Mexico's Pacific coast.

Early Friday the storm sat about 250 miles southwest of Acapulco and 355 miles south of Manzanillo, crawling northwest at just six miles an hour. That slow pace matters, because a slow hurricane means more time to dump rain on the same stretch of coast. The U. S. National Hurricane Center has a hurricane warning up from Cabo Corrientes all the way down to Punta San Telmo, with a tropical storm warning covering Zihuatanejo up to Manzanillo.

And Trudy isn't alone out there. Tropical Storm Champi is pushing toward Guam, where a typhoon warning is now in effect, with more warnings for Tinian and Saipan.

For Mexico, the hardest part is still ahead. A major hurricane, moving slowly, aimed at a populated coastline. The next 48 hours decide how bad this gets.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.