Andres nears hurricane strength

It has been 40 years since it took so long for a named storm to develop in the eastern Pacific, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida.

It was moving toward the northwest near 8 mph (13 kph). The storm's winds were expected to build as high as 75 mph (120 kph), just over the minimum for a hurricane, by late Tuesday or Wednesday. Most forecast models predicted the storm would brush the central Mexican coast Tuesday before weakening and bending toward the west a little short of the Los Cabos resorts at the tip of the Baja California peninsula Thursday night or Friday.

SHOOT: At 2 a.m. PDT (5 a.m. EDT; 0900 GMT) Tuesday Andres was centered about 125 miles (200 kilometers) south-southeast of Manzanillo. Sustained winds near 70 mph (110 kph), with higher gusts

clipped from news.yahoo.com ACAPULCO, Mexico – Tropical Storm Andres was expected to grow into the Pacific season's first hurricane Tuesday and deal a glancing blow to southwestern Mexico before churning its way up the coast past picturesque towns popular with foreign retirees. Mexico issued a hurricane warning for the Pacific coast from just south of Manzanillo north to near Puerto Vallarta. To the south, officials in Acapulco prepared 120 shelters and warned residents to stay indoors, especially some 15,000 people in zones most at risk for flooding. Heavy rains late Sunday knocked down a few trees in the resort city. Forecasters said Andres was likely to brush the coast at hurricane strength around the port city of Manzanillo on Tuesday. Forecast models showed its center later pushing up the coast near towns such as Barra de Navidad that are home to some American and Canadian expatriates. "Tomorrow, we expect to have a lot of water," Garcia Martinez said.