PUERTO ESCONDIDO, Mexico -- Southern Mexico’s Pacific coast was braced for a Thursday morning impact with the approach of Hurricane Erick, which was upgraded to an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 early Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Hurricane Erick made landfall in Mexico's southern state of Oaxaca early Thursday as a major hurricane before moving inland and weakening to a tropical storm as it dumped heavy rain, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Hurricane Erick made landfall in Oaxaca as a Category 3 storm on Thursday, the first time a major hurricane has hit Mexico in June.