Hurricane Willa made landfall in Mexico Tuesday, lashing the Pacific coast with powerful wind, heavy rain and what forecasters warned was "extremely dangerous" storm surge.

Workers board up windows prior the landfall of Hurricane Willa, in Mazatlan, Mexico, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. (Photo:AP)

"The eye of Hurricane Willa is now over the coastline near the town of Escuinapa, Sinaloa," Mexico's National Meteorological Service said on Twitter.

The powerful storm, which was a maximum Category 5 hurricane on Monday, had weakened to Category 3 as it moved toward land. But forecasters warned it still had the potential to unleash deadly flooding and landslides.