Adrian weakens to a tropical depression in Pacific (AP)

MIAMI – Forecasters say Adrian has weakened to a tropical depression in the open Pacific and the once-powerful storm is expected to continue to lose strength.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Sunday the storm is moving over colder water and will dissipate within the next few days.

Adrian has top sustained winds of about 35 mph (56 kph).

Adrian was the 2011 season's first hurricane. The storm was a Category 4 with winds of 140 mph (225 kph) a couple of days ago. Adrian formed off the Mexican coast and never threatened to make landfall.

View the original article here

Adrian downgraded to tropical storm in Pacific (AP)

MIAMI – Forecasters say Hurricane Adrian has been downgraded to a tropical storm off the Pacific coast of Mexico and it continues weakening rapidly.

Forecasters say maximum sustained winds for what had been the first hurricane of the 2011 season decreased Saturday morning to about 70 mph (113 kph). It is expected to weaken further over the next two days.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami predicts the storm's center will stay well offshore but will generate large swells that could affect the southwestern coast of Mexico into the weekend.

The center of the storm was about 500 miles (805 km) south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja, Calif. It is moving west-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph).

View the original article here

Adrian becomes major hurricane in the Pacific (AP)

MIAMI – Forecasters say Hurricane Adrian has strengthened to a powerful Category 4 storm off the Pacific coast of Mexico but is still expected to stay offshore.

Forecasters say maximum sustained winds for the first hurricane of the 2011 season increased Thursday evening to about 140 mph (225 kph).

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami predicts that the storm's center will stay well offshore.

The center of the storm was about 320 miles (515 kilometers) south of Manzanillo, Mexico. It is moving west-northwest at 9 mph (14 kph).

View the original article here

Hurricane Adrian heads away from Mexican coast (AFP)

MIAMI (AFP) – Adrian, a major hurricane off the Pacific coast of Mexico, was veering on a northwesterly path Friday and posing no immediate threat to land, the US National Hurricane Center said.

The first hurricane of the 2011 season, Adrian is a category four storm with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour (220 kph) centered around 310 miles (505 kilometers) south-southeast of Manzanillo, Mexico.

"This general motion is expected to continue for the next 48 hours," the NHC said in an update, noting that the storm was keeping away from the Mexican coast.

Adrian was expected to begin weakening later Friday after hitting its peak intensity.

While the storm was not expected to hit land, the hurricane center said swells from Adrian "will continue to affect a portion of the southwestern Mexico coast (and) could cause life-threatening surf and rip currents."

The hurricane season, which started on June 1 and runs until November 30, will feature atmospheric conditions which experts predict will lead to the formation of 12 to 18 named tropical storms in the Atlantic zone, of which six to 10 could become hurricanes, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAA forecasts an elevated threat this year to the United States and Caribbean nations, and predicts between three and six major storms of Category three intensity or higher on the five-level Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.

View the original article here