Hurricane treft Mexico city

Rare late-season hurricane gains power in Pacific


MEXICO CITY, Mexico (Reuters) -- Hurricane Sergio, a rare mid-November cyclone, quickly strengthened off Mexico on Wednesday, and was due to brush Pacific coastal towns over the weekend as the official end to hurricane season approached.
The storm was some 410 miles (660 kilometers) southwest of the town of Zihuatanejo, Mexican meteorologists said.
Sergio packed howling winds of 109 mph (175 kph) and was almost a strong Category 3 hurricane, capable of causing structural damage and dangerous storm surges. The U.S. National Hurricane Center predicted higher wind speeds in the next 24 hours.
"We are anticipating it will continue to intensify and become a major hurricane, possibly later tonight or during the day tomorrow," said Michelle Mainelli of the center, based in Miami, Florida.
Mainelli said it was likely Sergio would be upgraded to a Category 3 storm. She said it was still early to say whether it would make land.
"The atmosphere is very light and the water is very warm; combining the two we could get a very strong hurricane," she said.
The eastern Pacific has not seen a storm this strong so late in the season since officials began keeping records.
Mexico's Pacific coast has been blitzed with hurricanes and storms this year, while its Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico coasts have seen little activity.
Mainelli said the busier Pacific storm season, and the less active Atlantic season, were partially a result of the El Nino weather phenomenon.
Three hurricanes forecast to hit Baja California's Los Cabos resort towns earlier this year veered away from hotels and condominium complexes popular with U.S. tourists at the last minute.
In October, Hurricane Paul killed three people in northwestern Mexico. In September, Hurricane Lane took three lives along the Pacific coast and Hurricane John killed at least three people in Baja California.
Lane slammed into tomato fields in the agricultural state of Sinaloa, pushing up prices for one of Mexico's main cooking ingredients and feeding a spike in inflation.