Hurricane Flossie has strengthened into a powerful Category 3 hurricane off Mexico’s southwestern Pacific coast with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. The hurricane center said Flossie would begin weakening later Wednesday. The center said Flossie was about 315 miles (505 kilometers) south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas and was moving west-northwest off the Mexican coast at 10 kph (17 mph). It was expected to skirt the coast for a few days while dropping rain on several Mexican states. While its center is forecast to remain offshore, rainfall up to 150 mm (6 inches) was likely for parts of the Mexican states of Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima, and Jalisco into Wednesday, with the possibility of life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in steep terrain. (AP)