MEXICO CITY—Tropical Storm Orlene strengthened in the eastern Pacific on Friday and forecasters expected it to become a hurricane while heading for a projected landfall on Mexico’s northwestern coast Monday.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Orlene had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph) early Friday evening. It was centered about 265 miles (425 kilometers) south-southwest of Cabo Corrientes and was moving north-northwest at 5 mph (7 kph).
The center said Orlene was a small, compact storm, with tropical storm-force winds extending out only 45 miles (75 kilometers) from the center.
It was forecast to grow to hurricane force by Saturday morning before falling back to tropical storm strength ahead of a forecast Monday landfall in Sinaloa state, in the region around the resort city of Mazatlan.
