Named storm in the Pacific brews off the coast of Mexico

The second named storm of the 2023 Eastern Pacific hurricane season has formed near Mexico.

As of Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service predicted that Tropical Storm Beatriz will become a hurricane by late Friday. The storm was located off the southern coast of Mexico, generating maximum sustained winds of about 40 miles per hour and is expected to travel northwest up the Baja Coast at about 12 miles per hour, reaching the Baja Peninsula by Tuesday.

The storm is not expected to threaten Hawaii.

Beatriz is the second storm to be detected this season, following Hurricane Adrian, which was first detected west of Mexico on Tuesday and became a hurricane by Wednesday. As of Thursday afternoon, Adrian was generating sustained winds as high as 85 miles per hour, and was expected to travel west-by-northwest throughout the next several days, petering out into a tropical depression by Sunday evening.

Adrian is also not expected to approach close to Hawaii.

Meteorologists predicted a “near- to above-normal” Central Pacific hurricane season this year, with the El Nino weather cycle fueling warmer-than-average waters near the equator. Between four to seven tropical storms are expected in the Central Pacific this season.