Emilia strengthens to Category 4 hurricane in Pacific
By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 11:39 AM EDT, Tue July 10, 2012
Hurricane Emilia is moving west-northwest in the Pacific Ocean off Mexico and may become a Category 4 storm.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Hurricane Emilia whips maximum sustained winds of about 140 mph
- NEW: The cyclone known as Daniel fizzles from a hurricane to a tropical storm
- Weather agency: Neither Emilia nor Daniel currently pose a threat to land
- Both the hurricane and the tropical storm are expected to weaken through Thursday
(CNN) -- Hurricane Emilia raged into to a Category 4 storm Tuesday, hurling 140 mph winds as it spun across the Pacific Ocean.
As of Tuesday morning, Emilia was about 680 miles (1,095 kilometers) south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said. It was traveling west-northwest at about 12 mph.
No coastal watches or warnings have been issued due to Emilia, and the hurricane center did not indicate if it is expected to hit or even approach land.
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Though Emilia's intensity could fluctuate Tuesday, "gradual weakening is expected to begin by tonight and continue through Thursday," the weather agency said Tuesday.
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Farther west, the cyclone known as Daniel fizzled from a hurricane to a tropical storm.
By 5 a.m. ET Tuesday, Daniel's maximum sustained winds had weakened to 70 mph -- under the 74-mph threshold to qualify as a hurricane, according to the hurricane center.
Like Hurricane Emilia, Tropical Storm Daniel did not pose a threat to land, the weather agency said. Daniel was about 1,440 miles east of Hilo, Hawaii, and was moving west at 16 mph.
"Gradual weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Daniel could become a tropical depression by Thursday," the National Hurricane Center said.
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