Hurricane Patricia weakens to Category 1 storm over Mexico

Hurricane Patricia approaches Michoacan, Mexico
(Image credit: Brett Gundlock/Getty Images)

Hurricane Patricia weakened quickly into a Category 1 storm over southwestern Mexico on Saturday morning, CNN reports.

Authorities had evacuated residents and tourists on Friday in preparation for the Category 5 hurricane, which was said to be the strongest Western Hemisphere storm ever recorded. The National Weather Service has forecasted the storm will weaken further to a tropical storm Saturday before dissipating at night.

The damage seems to be minor compared to that of other strong hurricanes, President Enrique Peña Nieto said.

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"Nonetheless, it is very important that the population stays in the shelters, the security forces will be patrolling to protect their homes," he said. "I repeat, we still can't let our guard down."

Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.