Hurricane Season 2014 Track, Maps: Hurricane Vance Intensifies in Pacific, Storm to Cause Deadly Seas on Track Toward Baja Peninsula

Hurricane Vance is rapidly intensifying off the coast of Mexico in the Pacific Ocean and strengthened from a Category One to a Category Two storm on Sunday night.

According to the most recent public advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), issued at 7:00 p.m. PST on Sunday, Vance became a Category Two hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale on Sunday and the storm's last reported location was approximately 515 miles southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico.

Maximum sustained winds are currently being recorded near 105 miles per hour with significantly higher gusts occurring. As of the last NHC advisory, hurricane-force winds were extending outwards up to 25 miles from the storm's center. Tropical storm-force winds are extending outwards up to 115 miles.

Meteorologists expect Vance to continue intensifying over the next 24 hours, possibly into a major hurricane on Monday. 

According to the NHC, the eye of Hurricane Vance is reported near latitude 13.7 north and longitude 109.6 west. The storm is currently moving in a northwesterly direction at approximately 17 miles per hour.

Vance is expected to turn toward the north on Monday, followed by a further turn toward the north-northeast on Tuesday. This northeasterly turn will force the hurricane's trajectory toward the southwest Mexican coast during the coming week as a mid-level ridge near the southern Baja Peninsula shifts eastward and a trough approaches, The Weather Channel (TWC) reports.

However, increasing wind shear after this turn toward the northeast could cause some weakening of the storm. As such, when it makes landfall it may do so as a tropical storm, a tropical depression or even as a remnant low. It's been noted that at this stage in the game the specific details surrounding the storm's strength at landfall are still up in the air.

Weather experts advise that residents along the southwest Mexican coast and southern Baja Peninsula, including in Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan should continue to monitor the storm's progress for its possible impacts as the week goes on.

Ocean swells generated by Vance will likely begin affecting portions of southwestern Mexico within a 24-48 hour time frame. It's expected that these swells will likely cause high waves, life-threatening surf and dangerous rip tides. Swimmers and surfers are advised to take this into consideration before taking to the water for recreational purposes.

Stay tuned to Latin Post for the most up-to-date reports on Hurricane Vance over the coming days. Information will be posted for our readers as soon as it is made available by weather experts tracking the storm.