The system is expected to generate severely destructive winds as the core makes landfall in Mexico on Thursday.

This is the earliest fifth-named storm since July of 1956. The average date for the fifth-named storm is July 23.

Southern Mexico started the cleanup process Thursday in the aftermath of Hurricane Erick, which slammed into its Pacific coast as a powerful Category 3 storm but weakened as it moved inland.

After making landfall as a major hurricane along Mexico's coast, Erick weakened to a tropical storm. It left flooded streets ...