Hurricane Erick had strengthened to a Category 4 storm as it approached the coast but weakened to a Category 2 storm before making landfall on Thursday.

Erick was expected to reach hurricane strength as it neared land Wednesday. The cyclone was centered about 180 miles (290 kilometers) south-southeast of Puerto Ángel, Mexico, at 3 a.m. CST (0800 GMT), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Erick weakened to a tropical storm after making landfall as a major hurricane on Mexico's southern Pacific coast on Thursday, leaving flooded streets, damaged boats and buildings in Oaxaca as authorities warned of dangerous rains.

Outages were widespread across Philadelphia and the collar counties, making restoration efforts more complex, said a PECO spokesperson.

The severe weather threat in the Philadelphia region is over, but the storms knocked out power for thousands in the Delaware Valley on Thursday night.

After severe weather with straight line winds ripped up trees pulling down power lines, PECO has been out nonstop working to bring power back to homes.