Hurricane Erick rapidly intensified over the last 24 hours, growing into a powerful Category 4 storm but weakening slightly before making landfall.

Hurricane Erick, which rapidly intensified overnight, made landfall Thursday morning on Mexico's Pacific Coast as a powerful Category 3 storm, authorities said.

Erick rapidly intensified from a 40 mph tropical storm on June 17 into a Category 4 hurricane by midnight on June 19. Six hours later, Erick made landfall in extreme western Oaxaca state east of Punta Maldonado as a Category 3 with 125 mph winds, according to the National Hurricane Center.