MEXICO CITY (AP) — Powerful Hurricane Marie pushed across the open Pacific on Friday, and forecasters said it was likely to weaken over the weekend.
Marie was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 kph) Friday afternoon, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. It was centered about 1,065 miles (1,710 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula and was headed to the west-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph).
Forecasters said it should begin weakening Saturday without threatening land.
Meanwhile, the Hurricane Center said another system moving toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula was likely to reach tropical storm force Friday night and hit the peninsula on Saturday.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for the northern half of the peninsula’s Caribbean coast, covering Cancun, the Riviera Maya and other resorts, with 4 to 8 inches (100 to 200 mm) of rainfall likely in parts of the Yucatan and far-western Cuba. Even heavier rains could follow over other parts of southern Mexico.
It was centered about 155 miles (250 kilometers) southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph). The depression was moving toward the northwest near 9 mph (15 kph).
