Hurricane John to batter Mexican coast with downpours and 'life-threatening surf and rip current conditions'

Two tropical storms are said to have gained force
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Eleanor Rose7 August 2018

A hurricane-force storm is set to lash the southwestern coast of Mexico, causing downpours and huge swells that pose a danger to life.

Neither Hurricane John nor the lesser Tropical Storm Ileana are expected to make landfall, but meteorologists at the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that conditions at the coast will be perilous.

The NHC said: "Swells generated by John are expected to begin affecting the coasts of southwestern Mexico and the southern portion of the Baja California peninsula during the next day or so."

The swells are likely to cause "life-threatening surf and rip current conditions," it added, but it is not believed there is any current threat to land.

Tropical Storm Ileana formed earlier than John, on Sunday, and was expected initially to strengthen.

But now it is forecast to gradually weaken and dissipate by late Tuesday because of the wind-shear effects of the larger hurricane, which will effectively rip it apart.

Hurricane John formed off of Mexico's Pacific coast on Monday before strengthening into a hurricane and it is now expected to track parallel to the Mexican coastline.

John was located about 320 miles southwest of Cabo Corrientes, Mexico, and 435 miles south of the southern tip of Baja California early on Tuesday, with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour.

By late afternoon it was moving northwest at a speed of 8 mph.

Additional reporting by Associated Press

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