Miami: Hurricane Celia, the first of the 2010 Pacific season, was upgraded late Monday to a Category Two storm as it churned off the southeastern Mexican coast, the US-based National Hurricane Center said.
Packing winds of about 100 miles (165 kilometers) per hour with higher gusts, Celia was centered some 500 miles (815 kilometers) off Manzanillo, Mexico at 0300 GMT Tuesday.
The storm was advancing in a westward direction at about eight miles (13 kilometers) per hour, but poses no immediate threat to the Mexican coast since it is located so far off land, an NHC hurricane advisory said, adding that there are "no coastal watches or warnings in effect."
Celia is expected to continue its path and show some strengthening over the next 48 hours, the NHC added.
The other major storm to strike the Pacific so far this season was Tropical Storm Agatha, which slammed into Guatemala in May, unleashing heavy rains and floods that left some 275 people dead or missing across Central America.
Bureau Report
