Hurricane Raymond strengthens off Mexico's Pacific coast

ACAPULCO: Hurricane Raymond picked up strength Monday as it churned off a region of Mexico's Pacific coast still recovering from a devastating storm last month.

In just a few hours, Raymond went from a tropical storm to a Category Three hurricane on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC), which tracks hurricanes in the hemisphere, reported at 0900 GMT.

Raymond packed maximum sustained winds of 195 kph, with higher gusts. Hurricane force winds extend up to 30 kilometers out from the storm's center, while tropical force winds extend up to 110 kilometers.

"Some additional strengthening is possible during the next day or so," the NHC warned.

Raymond however stalled some 265 kilometers west-southwest of the resort town of Acapulco after steadily moving for hours towards the mainland, the NHC said.

Raymond's storm surge along Mexico's south-central Pacific coast is nevertheless expected to produce "significant coastal flooding" within the warning ares, and the surge "will be accompanied by large and destructive waves."

Swells generated by Raymond "are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions."