Tropical Storm Olaf strengthening in Pacific, to Become Hurricane

 

Tropical storm Olaf is strengthening in the Pacific between Mexico and Hawaii and is likely to become a hurricane by Saturday night or Sunday, but is not expected to make landfall, the National Hurricane Center said.

The center said Olaf is forecast to become a major hurricane by Monday.

Olaf is located 1,600 miles (2,600 km) west-southwest of the southern tip of the Mexican state of Baja California. At 8 a.m. PDT (1500 GMT) it had maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour (95 km/h), the center said. It is moving to the west, and expected to turn in a northwest direction later in the weekend.

"There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect," the hurricane center said in its latest public advisory on the storm.

(Reporting by Fiona Ortiz in Chicago; Editing by Kevin Liffey)