Tropical storm Fabio strengthens in Pacific

MIAMI: Tropical storm Fabio strengthened as it drifted far off the coast of Mexico in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, and could become a hurricane while remaining offshore, US weather forecasters said.

As of 0300 GMT, the storm packed maximum sustained winds of 60 miles (97 kilometers) per hour, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

The eye of the storm, which the NHC said could become a hurricane by late Friday or Saturday, was about 470 miles (755 kilometers) southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, moving westward at 10 miles (16 kilometers) per hour.

Hurricane Emilia, located farther into the Pacific at about 1025 miles (1,650 kilometers) west-southwest of Baja California, continued to weaken, with maximum sustained winds down to 85 miles (137 kilometers) per hour, making it a category one storm on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale.

It had spun rapidly into a category four storm on Tuesday.

Emilia was moving westward at 12 miles (19 kilometers) per hour, and is expected to continue in that direction over the next few days.