Tropical storm Eugene off coast of Mexico could strengthen to hurricane

[August 07, 2023]  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Tropical storm Eugene is strengthening in the Mexican Pacific and could become a hurricane in the next few hours as it moves parallel to the coast of the Baja California peninsula, the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported on Sunday.

Eugene was located 205 kilometers (127 miles) southwest of the peninsula and blowing maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour (68 miles per hour) moving at 30 km/h (18.6 mph) in a west-northwest direction, according to data from the Miami-based NHC.

"Eugene could become a hurricane later today before starting to weaken on Monday," the NHC said in a report, adding that no coastal warnings were in effect.

The state water commission in Mexico, Conagua, said the storm will cause very heavy rains in the state of Baja California Sur and waves up to four meters (13 feet) high. Waves are also expected in the states of Nayarit and Sinaloa.

Baja California Sur is home to tourist hotspots like Cabo San Lucas, while Nayarit hosts San Blas and San Pancho. The port city of Mazatlan is in Sinaloa.

Eugene is expected to continue on its current track through Tuesday with winds extending up to 130 km (81 miles) from the center of the storm, the NHC said.

In late June, Hurricane Beatriz dumped heavy rains in its path, also off the Pacific coast of Mexico.

(Reporting by Adriana Barrera; Writing by Alexander Villegas' Editing by Leslie Adler)

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