Hurricane Paul Monday swirled toward Mexico's Pacific coast Monday with winds hitting 150 kilometers (90 miles) per hour, threatening the tourist-packed tip of Baja California and the mainland to the east, forecasters said.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned residents of southern Baja California to brace for possible landfall Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, but the most likely track has the hurricane slamming ashore Wednesday near the port city of Mazatlan.
At 2100 GMT Monday, the center of Hurricane Paul was located 680 kilometers (420 miles) south-southwest of the Baja California resort of Cabo San Lucas and moving north-northwest at seven kilometers (five miles) per hour.
The storm packed maximum sustained winds of 150 kilometers (90 miles) per hour, with higher gusts, according to data compiled by a US Air Force hurricane hunter plane, which showed that contrary to earlier predictions, the hurricane lost some of its punch on Monday.
The US State Department warned US citizens in the hurricane's path late Monday to head to higher ground or identify shelter, adding that flights into the main area airports could be suspended at any time.
Source: Agence France-Presse
