Celia, howling off Mexico’s Pacific coast, upgraded to hurricane status

Celia becomes season’s first hurricane

MIAMI — Celia was upgraded to hurricane status Sunday as it howled toward open seas, away from Mexico’s Pacific coast.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm was expected to gradually strengthen and it already had maximum sustained winds of about 75 mph (120 kph) with higher gusts. The storm is listed as a Category 1 hurricane

Celia was centered about 365 miles (590 kilometers) south of Acapulco Sunday afternoon, the hurricane center said, and it was moving westward at about 7 mph (11 kph).

That course would take toward the open Pacific and forecasters said it posed no immediate threat to land.

Elsewhere Sunday, Blas weakened and was downgraded to a Tropical Depression. The storm was far from land, with its maximum winds dropping to 35 mph (55 kph), down from about 60 mph (95 kph) Saturday night.

That storm was centered 470 miles (755 kilometers) southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and it was moving west-northwest at about 13 mph (20 kph).