Hurricane John: How severe is the threat posed by the tropical storm heading for Mexico?

Country's Pacific coast braced for impact of powerful weather-fronts brewing at sea

Mexico is bracing itself for the effects of a hurricane-force storm threatening its Pacific coast this week.

Both Hurricane John and the lesser Tropical Storm Ileana are forecast to remain offshore, and at present neither is thought to pose immediate danger to the mainland, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).

The pair are expected to whip up heavy surf and bring strong rains to shore but Hurricane John is most likely to peak at Category 3 status before spinning back out to sea and away from the Baja California Peninsula by the end of the week, the NHC says.

However, the swells left in its wake are likely to cause “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” the Miami-based forecaster warned.

At present though, there are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Tropical Storm Ileana is closer to shore but predicted to gradually lose strength and dissipate by late Tuesday due to the effects of the larger hurricane, which is expected to bring localised downpours along the coast.

Mexican officials have meanwhile posted a tropical storm warning from Tecpan de Galeana to Cabo Corrientes along the country’s south western shoulder.

Hurricane John was centred about 435 miles south of the southern tip of Baja late on Monday and had maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour (mph). It was moving northwest at 8mph.

Ileana’s centre was about 80 miles south-south east of the Mexican port of Manzanillo. It had maximum sustained winds of 60mph and was heading north west at 21mph.

The AP contributed to this report