Hurricane Kay strengthens and hits Baja California with heavy rains

Hurricane Kay gained strength in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday and began to dump heavy rain on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.

Kay’s maximum sustained winds reached 155 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour) and it is expected that in the next few days it will reach the center of the peninsula.

The US National Hurricane Center in Miami said Kay was 220 miles (355 kilometers) southwest of the tip of the peninsula. It was heading in a north-northwest direction at 19 km/h (12 mph).

Authorities issued a hurricane watch for the sparsely populated area around Bahía Asunción. Kay is expected to continue over the sea on its journey north, moving parallel to the coast.

In the Atlantic Ocean, Hurricane Earl was strengthening to the northeast of Puerto Rico after dropping heavy rains on the Windward Islands, the Virgin Islands of the United States and Great Britain, and Puerto Rico.

Earl was located 485 miles (775 kilometers) south of Bermuda on Wednesday and was heading north at 6 mph (9 km/h).

Earl had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (135 km/h) and is expected to become a hurricane in the next few days and move into the Atlantic.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Danielle was gathering strength in the Atlantic about 1,110 kilometers (690 miles) west-northwest of the Azores. It had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 km/h).

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