Hurricane Hilary likely to become 'major hurricane' in Pacific
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An image from the National Hurricane Center showing the forecast track of Hurricane Hilary. (National Hurricane Center)
Hurricane Hilary is "likely to become a major hurricane" by Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Monday.
The storm strengthened from a tropical storm early Monday over the Pacific Ocean and been churning south of Mexico.
The storm however is on a path moving northwest -- staying away from immediate landfall. Its center was around latitude 14 North, 103 West at 4 a.m. central on Monday, according to the NHC public advisory.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The alert also said that the storm “is moving toward the west-northwest near 8 mph," but expected to pick up speed over the next 48 hours.
The storm has maximum sustained winds near 75 miles per hour, with higher gusts. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 10 miles from the center, while tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles.
There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect as a result of the storm.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}TROPICAL STORM DON FORMS IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
Last week, Tropical Storm Don became the fourth named storm of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season -- before it broke apart.