Hurricane Marie forecast: Rapid intensification expected off Pacific Coast of Mexico - Category 4 expected

Marie strengthened into the eighth hurricane of the eastern Pacific hurricane season on Saturday morning. Tropical Storm Marie became the 13th named storm in a busy eastern Pacific hurricane season on Friday morning after organizing into a tropical depression on Thursday night.

Located about 345 miles southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, Marie is expected to maintain a west-northwest heading over the next five days, remaining a safe distance from the Mexican Pacific coast. Only the tiny offshore islands of Socorro and Clarion are in its path.

Marie is expected to continue to strengthen in a favorable environment and there is an above-average likelihood of rapid intensification with this system, which could make it a major hurricane this weekend or early next week.

Marie is expected to be a large hurricane. While not directly affecting land, large swells should begin propagating to the Mexican Pacific coast this weekend, including the southern Baja Peninsula continuing into next week, then to the Southern California coast by mid-late next week, bringing a danger of rip currents to area beaches.

Current Information

So, where exactly is the cyclone's center located now? If you're plotting the storm along with us, the information depicted in the map above provides the latitude/longitude coordinates, distance away from the nearest land location, maximum sustained winds and central pressure (measured in millibars).

Infrared Satellite

This infrared satellite image shows how cold (and therefore how high) the cloud tops are. Brighter orange and red shadings concentrated near the center of circulation signify a healthy tropical cyclone.