The origins of Hurricane Willa can be traced back to a tropical wave that left the west coast of Africa on October 2, 2018.
Over the next few days, the wave produced intermittent bursts of deep convection, or thunderstorms; however, strong wind shear blasted the convection away from the center while the wave traveled westward across the Atlantic Ocean.
On October 14, the United States-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) began monitoring the wave for tropical development while it was located in the southwestern Caribbean Sea.
On the next day, the system became better organized southeast of the Yucatán Peninsula, and the storm encountered more favorable conditions as it neared land.
As a result, a WC-130 aircraft from the United States Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron was scheduled to survey the system for further development.
However, the wave made landfall in Belize on October 16, hindering further organization.

The tropical wave moved into the East Pacific early on October 17; however, the system failed to coalesce into a tropical cyclone, and became increasingly disorganized and elongated on the next day.
A new low-pressure trough, an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure, developed to the east of the original low early on October 19, which organized into Tropical Storm Vicente later that day.
The original low to the west gradually organized while moving westward, and at 00:00 UTC on October 20, the system developed into a tropical depression while located approximately 265 mi (425 km) south of Manzanillo, Mexico.
Banding features – significantly elongated, curved bands of rain clouds – began to develop south of the center, while cloud tops west of the center became as cold as −121 to −132 °F (−85 to −91 °C).
The system then developed a tight inner core, strengthening into a tropical storm around 12:00 UTC, while located about 290 mi (465 km) south-southwest of Manzanillo.
At this point, the NHC assigned it the name Willa from its rotating list of names.

Shortly thereafter, Willa began to rapidly intensify, with its low-level center becoming embedded beneath a central dense overcast, which is the large area of thunderstorms surrounding the storm's circulation center.
At the same time, Willa turned towards the northwest as it began traveling around the western edge of a mid-level ridge.
Environmental conditions around the cyclone and aloft were favorable, with very low wind shear, high levels of moisture, and sea surface temperatures of 84 °F (29 °C).
These conditions allowed Willa to strengthen into a hurricane around 06:00 UTC on October 21.
Around the storm, outflow became well-established, and in the center of the convection, a small eye developed.
Willa reached Category 3 status by 18:00 UTC, with its eye becoming well-defined on both infrared and satellite imagery, making it the tenth major hurricane of the season.
Continuing to rapidly intensify, Willa reached peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 925 mbar (27.3 inHg) at approximately 06:00 UTC on October 22, while located about 195 mi (315 km) south-southwest of Cabo Corrientes, Mexico.
This capped off a 48-hour period in which Willa's winds increased by 125 mph (205 km/h).
Over the next few days, Willa recurved towards Mexico; the system turned to the north as it rounded the edge of the ridge and later to the northeast due to an approaching mid-to-upper-level trough.

Shortly after Willa reached peak intensity, microwave satellite imagery detected the presence of an outer eyewall, indicating that Willa was beginning to undergo an eyewall replacement cycle.
Willa also began to interact with the smaller Tropical Storm Vicente to the southeast at about this time.
Despite a favorable environment, Willa began to weaken due to the eyewall replacement cycle, with the storm's eye becoming cloud-filled; Willa weakened to Category 3 strength on October 23 around 06:00 UTC, as southwesterly wind shear began to increase.
The weakening trend abated as the
The origins of Hurricane Willa can be traced back to a tropical wave that left the west coast of Africa on October 2, 2018. Over the next few days, the wave produced intermittent bursts of deep convection, or thunderstorms; however, strong wind shear blasted the convection away from the center while the wave traveled westward across the Atlantic Ocean. On October 14, the United States-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) began monitoring the wave for tropical development while it was located in the southwestern Caribbean Sea. On the next day, the system became better organized southeast of the Yucatán Peninsula, and the storm encountered more favorable conditions as it neared land. As a result, a WC-130 aircraft from the United States Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron was scheduled to survey the system for further development. However, the wave made landfall in Belize on October 16, hindering further organization. 
The tropical wave moved into the East Pacific early on October 17; however, the system failed to coalesce into a tropical cyclone, and became increasingly disorganized and elongated on the next day. A new low-pressure trough, an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure, developed to the east of the original low early on October 19, which organized into Tropical Storm Vicente later that day. The original low to the west gradually organized while moving westward, and at 00:00 UTC on October 20, the system developed into a tropical depression while located approximately 265 mi (425 km) south of Manzanillo, Mexico. Banding features – significantly elongated, curved bands of rain clouds – began to develop south of the center, while cloud tops west of the center became as cold as −121 to −132 °F (−85 to −91 °C). The system then developed a tight inner core, strengthening into a tropical storm around 12:00 UTC, while located about 290 mi (465 km) south-southwest of Manzanillo. At this point, the NHC assigned it the name Willa from its rotating list of names. 
Shortly thereafter, Willa began to rapidly intensify, with its low-level center becoming embedded beneath a central dense overcast, which is the large area of thunderstorms surrounding the storm's circulation center. At the same time, Willa turned towards the northwest as it began traveling around the western edge of a mid-level ridge. Environmental conditions around the cyclone and aloft were favorable, with very low wind shear, high levels of moisture, and sea surface temperatures of 84 °F (29 °C). These conditions allowed Willa to strengthen into a hurricane around 06:00 UTC on October 21. Around the storm, outflow became well-established, and in the center of the convection, a small eye developed. Willa reached Category 3 status by 18:00 UTC, with its eye becoming well-defined on both infrared and satellite imagery, making it the tenth major hurricane of the season. Continuing to rapidly intensify, Willa reached peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 925 mbar (27.3 inHg) at approximately 06:00 UTC on October 22, while located about 195 mi (315 km) south-southwest of Cabo Corrientes, Mexico. This capped off a 48-hour period in which Willa's winds increased by 125 mph (205 km/h). Over the next few days, Willa recurved towards Mexico; the system turned to the north as it rounded the edge of the ridge and later to the northeast due to an approaching mid-to-upper-level trough.
Shortly after Willa reached peak intensity, microwave satellite imagery detected the presence of an outer eyewall, indicating that Willa was beginning to undergo an eyewall replacement cycle. Willa also began to interact with the smaller Tropical Storm Vicente to the southeast at about this time. Despite a favorable environment, Willa began to weaken due to the eyewall replacement cycle, with the storm's eye becoming cloud-filled; Willa weakened to Category 3 strength on October 23 around 06:00 UTC, as southwesterly wind shear began to increase. The weakening trend abated as the 
Hurricane Willa