Hurricane strengthens as it nears Mexico

A hurricane nearing Mexico's coast has strengthened to Category 4 storm.

Hurricane Sandra has strengthened to a Category 4 storm, the strongest recorded in the eastern Pacific Ocean this late in the year, as it heads toward Mexico's coast, the US National Hurricane Center says.

Sandra, about 925km south of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula on Thursday morning, had maximum sustained winds of 233km/h, the NHC said.

The agency may issue tropical storm or hurricane watches for portions of the area later on Thursday, it said.

Last month, Hurricane Patricia, which at one point registered as one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded, landed on Mexico's Pacific coast, but did not inflict major damage.