Hurricane Aletta Intensifies Off Mexican Coast...05/26/00

MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) - Hurricane Aletta gained in strength on Thursday off Mexico's Pacific coast but continued to move away from land, Mexico's Meteorological Service said.

The service said in a statement that Aletta, the first hurricane of the season in the eastern north Pacific region, had sustained winds of 102 mph (165 kph) with gusts reaching 127 mph (205 kph) at 4 a.m. local time (5 a.m. EDT/0900 GMT).

The storm's centre was about 350 miles (565 km) from the Pacific port of Manzanillo, and the hurricane fell into category two on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

Tropical Storm Aletta reached within 186 miles (300 km) of Mexico's southern Pacific coast on Tuesday before changing direction and reaching hurricane strength. While the storm was not forecast to touch land, Mexican officials warned of possible flooding on the coast.

The Meteorological Service said Aletta was moving west at 8 mph (13 kph) and by Thursday afternoon its strongest winds were likely to reach 109 mph (175 kph), with gusts of up to 133 mph (215 kph).

Mexican weather officials said ports in the coastal states of Jalisco, Colima and Michoacan were seeing heavy rain and swells, and warned boats to take extreme precautions.

Aletta was born as a tropical depression on Monday along the Mexican coast at the resort city Acapulco.