Mexico — The Pacific Coast of Mexico has recorded and named its first hurricane of the season. Early Saturday, Hurricane Enrique developed after being a named Tropical Storm only the day before. The center of the system was located off the coast of southern Mexico.
The slow-moving Category 1 is expected to move even slower as Sunday nears. According to the NOAA, Hurricane Enrique will line up parallel to the southwestern coast as it makes its way toward Baja California Sur, however forecasters are not anticipating landfall.
According to the fast track, Hurricane Enrique will continue to move west-northwest at around 8 mph (13 km/h) before gradually slowing down and turning toward the northwest Saturday night or Sunday. After that, Enrique is expected to take a northwesterly course, remaining offshore parallel to the southwestern coast of the country for the next two to three days.
The NOAA reports Hurricane Enrique will make Category 2 status by Sunday before a downturn that will see it regress back into a storm by Wednesday. On Thursday, the southern tip of the peninsula is likely to feel the effects of the passing tropical depression in the way of winds and heavy rainfall.
The Pacific hurricane season began historically early this year with the arrival of Tropical Storm Andrés on May 9. The hurricane season for both the Pacific and Atlantic runs until November.