Norman grows into Category 4 hurricane in Pacific

MEXICO CITY – The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Norman has grown into a Category 4 storm in the eastern Pacific Ocean and could become even stronger, though it poses no threat to land.

Forecasters say Norman had maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (240 kph) Thursday morning. It was centred about 630 miles (1,015 kilometres) west-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula and was moving west at 8 mph (13 kph).

The Hurricane Center says Norman could grow even stronger before starting to weaken Friday night or Saturday.

Meanwhile, forecasters say a disturbance off the coast of Africa is likely to become a tropical storm over the next day or so as it moves westward. A tropical storm warning was posted for parts of the Cape Verde Islands.