The Aletta storm off southern Mexico on Thursday became the first hurricane of the east Pacific season, but it is not a threat to the coast, US meteorologists said.
Aletta, which formed Wednesday as a tropical storm, escalated to a category one hurricane — on a scale of five — when it reached maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour (120 kilometers per hour), according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.
Its gusts are blowing out at sea around 455 miles southeast of Manzanillo — a port city Mexico’s western Colima state — with its eye moving northwest at six miles per hour.
It is expected to gain strength over the next two days before weakening by Saturday.
Hurricane-strength winds extended 25 miles from the eye of the storm, with tropical storm winds reaching 90 miles away.
Authorities have not released coastal watches or warnings on land.
Source: Jamaica Observer
