Hurricane Rosa loses strength as it spins toward California

[October 01, 2018]    (Reuters) - Hurricane Rosa dwindled to a Category 1 storm as it spun in the Pacific Ocean towards Baja California early Sunday and was forecast to become a weaker tropical storm later in the day, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

Hurricane Rosa is shown from a National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA) GOES East satelite over the eastern Pacific Ocean on September 27, 2018, in this image provided September 28, 2018. Image taken September 27, 2018. NOAA/Handout via REUTERS

Rosa, with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour (140 kph), dropped down from a Category 2 storm overnight, coming down another notch on the five-step Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

It was about 585 miles (940 km) southwest of San Felipe Mexico at 2 a.m. Pacific Time, and was expected to reach Baja California on Monday as a tropical storm, as additional weakening was in the forecast over the next few days, the Miami-based center said.

A Tropical Storm warning was in effect for the coast of Baja, Ca., from Punta Abreos to Cabo San Quintin. The storm is expected to drop 3-to-6 inches of rain, with isolated spots of 10 inches of rain in the next few days, the weather service said.

(Reporting by Rich McKay; Editing by Keith Weir)

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