Tropical Storm Blas likely to be hurricane off south Mexico

MEXICO CITYit (AP) — The second tropical storm of the eastern Pacific season is forecast to become a hurricane Wednesday off southern Mexico, though it isn’t expected to threaten land. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says that after reaching hurricane force, Blas will likely begin weakening later in the week as it moves out into the open ocean. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph) Tuesday night. It it was centered about 290 miles (465 kilometers) south-southeast of the Mexican port of Manzanillo and oving north at 5 mph (7 kph). The hurricane center says that even though Blas isn’t forecast to make landfall, it is likely to kick up dangerous surf conditions along the coast.