Hurricane in Southern California was not a landfall threat on Sunday, but Hurricane Karina had already formed in the Pacific Ocean and was expected to strengthen quickly. The National Hurricane Center said the storm could become a major hurricane in another day or so.
The storm’s maximum sustained winds were 80 mph, or 130 kph, and its center was about 880 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. It was moving west-northwest at 9 mph, keeping it over open water for now.
National Hurricane Center on Karina
The National Hurricane Center classified Karina as a Category 1 hurricane on Sunday. A major hurricane is the next step up on the scale, which means winds above the 111 mph threshold rather than the 80 mph level Karina had when forecasters issued the update.
That forecast puts the next day or so at the center of the story. Karina was expected to stay well away from land while it strengthened, which leaves the main near-term risk tied to the storm’s outer effects rather than its core.
Southwest Mexico and Baja California Peninsula
Swells from Karina were likely to cause dangerous surf and rip current conditions along parts of southwest Mexico and the Baja California Peninsula. For people near those coastlines, the practical issue is not where the center is now, but whether ocean conditions worsen as the storm gains strength offshore.
Tropical Storm Lowell was also in the Pacific on Sunday, about 985 miles east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. Forecasters said Lowell posed no immediate threat to land and could become a hurricane by Monday night or Tuesday.
For now, Karina’s path keeps the storm over water, but the forecast still points to more intense winds and rougher surf before it reaches its peak. The question that matters most is how strong it gets while it remains offshore and how long those coastal hazards persist along southwest Mexico and the Baja California Peninsula.
