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NASA / NOAA GOES PROJECT
The GOES-West satellite provided an infrared image of Hurricane Dolores early Wednesday morning that showed the storm skirting the southwestern Mexico coastline.
MIAMI >> Hurricane Dolores has rapidly strengthened to a powerful Category 4 storm in the Pacific off Mexico’s coast overnight, but appears to be weakening.
The storm’s maximum sustained winds late Wednesday morning were about 125 mph, down from 130 mph earlier in the day, and is now a Category 3 storm.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the hurricane could fluctuate in intensity through Thursday. But weakening is expected Thursday night and Friday as the storm moves into cooler waters.
Dolores was centered about 295 miles south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and was moving west-northwest near 6 mph late Wednesday morning.
Swells generated by the hurricane are affecting parts of Mexico’s southwestern coast along with the southern coast of the Baja California peninsula. The swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Meanwhile Tropical Storm Enrique continues to weaken in the Eastern Pacific.
At 5 a.m., the storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was headed west-northwest at 8 mph. It was about 1550 miles of the southern tip of Baja California.
Both storms may send some surf to east shores of the islands starting later this week. It’s too early to say if the storms will have any other effects on Hawaii’s weather.
