Powerful Hurricane Orlene headed for Mexico’s Pacific coast on Sunday, where it is expected to make landfall Monday night, the US National Hurricane Center said.

The storm lost some strength as it moved across the water, falling from Category 4 to 3, the agency said.

However, it is expected to be a strong hurricane if it passes near or over the Islas Marias archipelago and will remain a hurricane if it reaches southwestern Mexico, the NHC said.

The NHC forecast the storm would move over the Islas Marias Sunday night or Monday morning and make landfall Monday night.

Mexico’s National Water Commission (Conagua) predicted the storm would be a Category 1 or 2 hurricane if it made landfall.

The storm will generate wind gusts of up to 110 kilometers per hour and waves of up to five meters on the coasts of Nayarit and Jalisco states, Conagua added, urging residents of the vulnerable areas to fight back and take refuge in makeshift shelters.

The Navy Ministry has closed the ports of Nayarit and Jalisco.

Authorities are closely monitoring the trail of the storm as they consider whether to evacuate tourists from Mexican beach resorts to makeshift shelters, Víctor Hugo Roldan, director of Jalisco Civil Protection, told the press.

Tropical cyclones hit Mexico on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts each year, usually between May and November.

In October 1997, Hurricane Paulina hit the Pacific coast of Mexico as a Category 4 storm, killing more than 200 people.