Hurricane Vance Strengthens to Category 2, Nearing Major Hurricane Status Off Mexico's Pacific Coast

Hurricane Vance has rapidly strengthened into a Category 2 storm in the Eastern Pacific, located several hundred miles south-southwest of Acapulco, Mexico. As of the latest advisory, Vance has maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (177 kph) and is moving slowly north-northwestward. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasts Vance to briefly reach Category 3 intensity by Saturday morning, October 24, with winds near 115 mph (185 km/h), though gradual weakening is expected to begin by Sunday. Marine warnings are in effect for the Eastern Pacific, and the hurricane's outer bands are already bringing gale-force winds and rough seas to Mexico's Gulf of Tehuantepec, with heavy rains expected in coastal Mexican states.