Oct. 20 (UPI) — Hurricane Willa is gaining strength and forecast to impact Mexcio later this week but Tropical Storm Vicente is weakening in the Pacific region, the National Hurricane Center said Sunday.
Willa is expected to become a major hurricane by Monday morning with rapid strengthening, the NHC said. The storm was about 270 miles soith-southwest of Cabo Corrientes, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph and was moving at 7 mph, the NHC said in its 11 a.m. ET advisory.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 15 miles and tropical storm-form winds are outward up to 60 miles.
The government of Mexico has issued a hurricane watch for the coast of Mexico from San Blas northward to Mazatlan, and a tropical storm watch from Playa Perula northward to south of San Blas.
By late Sunday and Monday, a turn toward the north-northwest is forecast. By late Tuesday, it will be approaching Baja California and reach land along the west-central coast of Mexico on Wednesday.
The other storm, Vicente, is forecast to weaken Monday and Tuesday. It will remain just offshore or near the southern coast of Mexico through Monday, the NHC said.
Vicente was about 90 miles south-southeast of Puerto Angels, Mexico, and about 100 miles southeast of Puerto Escondido, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and was moving at 9 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 11 a.m. ET advisory.
Tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 35 miles.
With Willa and Vicente, the 2018 Northeast Pacific hurricane season has hit a record for the most seasonal Accumulated Cyclone Energy, Meteorologist at Colorado State University Philip Klotzbach said in a Twitter post.
