MIAMI — Hurricane Vance intensified Friday as the National Hurricane Center forecast rapid strengthening as it approaches Mexico’s Pacific Coast.
At Category 1 status, Vance sustained maximum winds of 85 mph (140 kph), located roughly 440 miles south-southwest of Acapulco. Forecasters warn it could reach major Category 3 intensity before Friday ends.
The system is creeping north-northwest at approximately 6 mph (9 kph), with the trajectory expected to persist through the weekend, bringing it near Puerto Vallarta by Monday. Outer bands are already delivering gale-force winds and rough seas to Mexico’s Gulf of Tehuantepec.
The Pacific has experienced an unusually active hurricane season, with systems developing in rapid succession near Hawaii and Mexico. Experts link the pattern to El Niño conditions exacerbated by global warming, which have contributed to extreme weather across the region, including recent severe flooding and tornadoes in the southwestern United States and ongoing drought in Central America’s Dry Corridor.
If Vance reaches major hurricane status, it will mark the seventh consecutive major storm in the Pacific this year, following Nolo, Odalys, Polo, Rachel, Simon, and Trudy. Note that the World Meteorological Organization’s Hurricane Committee typically avoids names beginning with Q, U, X, Y, and Z.
