First hurricane of season swirls in Pacific off Mexico

May 25, 2000
Web posted at: 12:13 PM EDT (1613 GMT)

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Tropical Storm Aletta strengthened into the first hurricane of the season off the Pacific coast of Mexico, while moving further out to sea today.

Aletta opened the hurricane season in the Pacific with wind speeds of 99 miles per hour, and gusts as high as 120 miles per hour in its first hours of life.

"It is rather unusual to have such a strong tropical cyclone in the east Pacific during the month of May," the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla., said in a report. Hurricanes usually form as sea temperatures rise in the summer.

The hurricane whipped up rainstorms and high waves in the Pacific Coast states of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco, according to Mexico's National Water Commission.

The center of the hurricane was located about 370 miles southwest of the Pacific coast resort of Manzanillo, and was traveling west -- out to sea -- at about 8 mph, according to the hurricane center. It was expected to gradually weaken over the next several days.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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