Hurricane Blanca expected to intensify through early Friday, Andres weakens; no land threat

MIAMI – Tropical Storm Andres continues to weaken in the eastern Pacific while Hurricane Blanca has stopped intensifying but is expected to gain strength through early Friday.

Neither storm posed a threat to land Wednesday, with no watches or warnings in effect.

Andres’ maximum sustained winds decreased to 50 mph (85 kph). The storm is centred about 1,000 miles (1,610 kilometres) west of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. It’s moving north at 3 mph (6kph). Andres should become a tropical depression by Thursday.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Blanca’s winds have stopped strengthening, for now. Maximum sustained winds are 140 mph (220 kph), making Blanca a major hurricane classified as Category 4. Blanca is centred about 485 miles (780 kilometres) south of Manzanillo, Mexico, and is stationary.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Blanca is forecast to intensify through early Friday. On Thursday, it’s expected to moved north-northwest with an increase in speed. Swells are expected to begin affecting Mexico’s coast over the next few days.