Hurricane Darby grows into Cat 4 storm; no threat to land

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Darby strengthened into a Category 4 storm Monday while far out in the Pacific west of southern Mexico, with forecasters saying it posed no threat to land.

Darby became a hurricane Sunday, and the U.S. National Hurricane Center said its maximum sustained winds had reached 140 mph (220 kph) by Monday afternoon. It was centered about 1,135 miles (1,830 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and was moving west at 15 mph (24 kph).

The center said Darby was a very compact storm, with hurricane-force winds extending outward only about 10 miles (20 kilometers) from its center. Tropical storm-force winds were felt out to 60 miles (95 kilometers).

Darby was forecast to strengthen some more but then begin weakening by midweek and be a tropical depression by Saturday while approaching an area to the south of the Hawaiian Islands.