Hurricane Marie is rapidly intensifying and will likely become a major hurricane by Sunday, National Hurricane Center forecasters say.
At 5 a.m. Saturday, Marie, a Category 1 storm, had 85 mph winds and was moving toward the west-northwest at 10 mph, forecasters said. Marie is located about 330 miles south-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. Marie had hurricane-force winds (winds greater than 75 mph) extending outward 25 miles and tropical storm-force winds reaching some 105 miles from the center of Marie.
Surf from the 13th named storm of the Eastern Pacific hurricane season is already affecting portions of the south-central and southwestern coast of Mexico and will likely reach the Baja California peninsula y Sunday. The swells generated by the storm will likely cause life-threatening surf and rip currents along affected coasts.
Forecasters expect the tropical storm to strengthen during the next 48 hours and attain at least Category 3 status by Sunday. A Category 3 storm packs winds between 111 and 129 mph. Although an eye has yet to become clearly defined, forecasters said that moisture, convective instability and sea surface temperatures will provide a very conducive environment for the storm to strengthen for the next three days.
Thereafter, forecasters expect the storm to pass over cooler water and into a more stable atmosphere dropping Marie down to a Category 1 storm.
Marie formed as a tropical storm, previously Tropical Depression 13E, early Friday far offshore of the southwestern coast of Mexico.