Eugene becomes a major hurricane in the East Pacific, far off Mexico's coast

[News_Editor]

Eugene becomes a major hurricane in the East Pacific, far off Mexico's coast

2011-08-03 18:24:17 GMT+7 (ICT)

MIAMI (BNO NEWS) -- Hurricane Eugene strengthened into a major category three storm far off the Pacific coast of Mexico on late Tuesday evening, forecasters said. There is no threat to land.

Forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) have been following the weather system since Wednesday last week when it emerged as an area of disturbed weather several hundred miles (kilometers) south of the coast of El Salvador and Guatemala. It rapidly became better organized on Saturday and developed into a tropical storm on Sunday morning, before becoming a hurricane on Monday afternoon.

"Eugene continues to strengthen. Since the last advisory deep convection has increased in intensity and coverage and become more symmetric around the eye," NHC hurricane specialist John Cangialosi said on Tuesday evening. "Dvorak classifications [..] were 90 knots (103 miles/166 kilometers per hour) at 0000Z, but given the improvement in convective organization since then the initial wind speed is set at 100 knots (115 miles/185 kilometers per hour), in agreement with the latest ADT satellite intensity estimates. This makes Eugene a major hurricane, the third of the 2011 Eastern Pacific hurricane season."

As of 2 a.m. PDT (0900 GMT) on Wednesday, the center of Eugene was located about 570 miles (915 kilometers) south-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. It is moving toward the west-northwest at a speed of about 14 miles (22 kilometers) per hour, keeping it far from land.

Maximum sustained winds of Eugene are near 115 miles (185 kilometers) per hour, with higher gusts, making it a category three hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity. The storm is not expected to become a category four hurricane.

"Eugene is moving over slowly cooling sea surface temperatures, and the hurricane is likely near peak intensity," NHC senior hurricane specialist Jack Beven said on early Wednesday morning. "The new intensity forecast calls for a little strengthening this morning followed by a steady weakening over colder waters, with Eugene expected to weaken to a tropical storm in about 60 to 72 hours, to a tropical depression in about 96 hours, and to a remnant low in about 120 hours."

Eugene is the fifth named storm of the 2011 Eastern Pacific hurricane season, following Hurricane Dora which formed off the Pacific coast of Mexico earlier this month. As the system stayed far enough from land, Dora caused no damage or casualties.

According to figures released in May, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center is expecting a below normal hurricane season in the Eastern Pacific this year. The outlook calls for 9 to 15 named storms, with five to eight becoming hurricanes and one to three expected to become a major hurricane (category 3 or higher).

An average Eastern Pacific hurricane season produces 15 to 16 named storms, with eight to nine becoming hurricanes and four becoming major hurricanes. The Eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 through November 30, with peak activity from July through September.

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