Hurricane Dora Off Pacific Coast of Mexico: Big Pic

July 21, 2011 -- Hurricane Dora strengthened to a category three storm on Wednesday as it swirled up Mexico's Pacific coast, pounding resort coastlines with heavy rains and wind, Mexican and U.S. weather services said.

"Dora becomes the second major hurricane of the eastern Pacific season," the Miami-based US National Hurricane Center said in its latest bulletin.

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The storm was heading west-northwest parallel to the coast at 26 kilometers (16 miles) per hour and had reached category three on the five-point Saffir Simpson scale, the NHC said.

Dora was around 350 kilometers (220 miles) southwest of the port city of Lazaro Cardenas and packed winds of up to 185 kilometers (185 miles) per hour, which could further strengthen Thursday, it added.

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Some NHC forecast models put the hurricane on track to affect Mexico's luxury resort of Cabo San Lucas, on the Baja California peninsula, later in the week.

Mexico's National Weather Service issued tropical storm watches for the southern coast, warning of large waves and heavy rain and advising vessels in the vicinity to take precautions against high seas and heavy winds.

Mexican authorities prepared for possible landslides in areas already hit by torrential rains that left five dead and affected 200,000 people last weekend.

The 2011 season's first named storm, Arlene, left at least 16 people dead in Mexico after it drenched much of the country and left hundreds of thousands homeless earlier this month.

Mexico last year suffered what the government described as the wettest rainy season on record.

Tropical storms and hurricanes caused flooding and mudslides that killed 125 people, left hundreds of thousands homeless, and caused damage of more than $4 billion.

-- Content by AFP

IMAGE: The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image on July 20. Dora bears the spiral shape and distinct eye characteristic of strong storms. Dora’s clouds graze Mexico’s coast.