After earlier moving on a track that looked as if it would curve away from the coast, the service said there is a 'high possibility of a direct (land) hit by Hurricane Jimena in the next 72 hours,' in Baja California Sur state on the Baja California peninsula in Mexico's northwest.
Jimena late on Sunday was packing winds of 220 kph and was moving west-northwest at 13 kph, the weather service said.
The storm, which could barrel onshore on Wednesday, may be felt with powerful winds, heavy rain and rough seas as soon as Tuesday, it forecast.
With gusty winds and some drizzle here already, residents of La Paz, the state capital, were rushing to board up windows and buy groceries before shops close their doors.
State civil defence officials were meeting to decide if and when evacuations will be necessary and where shelters will be set up.
The area of the state where the storm may make its hit is not especially densely populated, and has many small fishing villages.
Jimena has already caused 'intense heavy rain with flooding in the lowlands and landslides in mountains' in the states of Guerrero, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco on the Pacific coast, a Mexican weather official said on Saturday.
The Category Four storm was just one notch below the most dangerous possible category on the one-to-five Saffir-Simpon scale.
The Miami-based US National Hurricane Centre said in a bulletin that 'a hurricane watch may be required for portions of the southern Baja California peninsula (of Mexico) later on (Sunday into Monday).' 'Some fluctuations in strength are likely over the next day or two,' the US NHC said. -- AFP
