MEXICO CITY: Hurricane Katia strengthened on Wednesday evening as it churned off the Gulf coast of Mexico before an expected turn towards land that could batter eastern states with high winds and heavy rain, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. A Category 1 hurricane, Katia was 210 miles (335 km) east of the port of Tampico, blowing maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour (130 km per hour), and may be close to major hurricane strength by the time it is forecast to hit land this weekend, the NHC said. August 9, 2017 – Franklin becomes a Category 1 hurricane about 105 miles northeast of Veracruz, Mexico. September 5, 2017 – Intensifies into a “potentially catastrophic” Category 5 hurricane as it roars toward the northeastern Caribbean islands. Predictions: April 6, 2017 – The Tropical Meteorology Project from Colorado State University predicts that the “2017 Atlantic basin hurricane season will have slightly below-average activity.” They predict a total of 11 named storms and four hurricanes. Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century and a Category 5, spread devastation in Saint Martin, where it killed eight people, and Barbuda in the Caribbean as it took aim at Florida. [nL2N1LN26Z]

Hurricane Jose in the open Atlantic, some 1,000 miles (1,610 km) east of the Caribbean`s Lesser Antilles islands, could become a Category 3 and eventually threaten the U.S. mainland. The NHC said the storm should strengthen further and would probably start drifting towards the southwest before it is forecast to hit the state of Veracruz by early Saturday. Katia has "worrying characteristics" because it is very slow moving and could dump a lot of rain on areas that have been saturated in recent weeks, Luis Felipe Puente, head of Mexico's national emergency services, told domestic television on Wednesday. State oil and gas company Pemex [PEMX.UL] has installations in and around the coast of Veracruz, but so far the firm has not reported any interruptions to its operations. The storm is expected to produce total rainfall of 5 to 10 inches (13 to 25 cm) over northern Veracruz, and 2 to 5 inches over southern Tamaulipas state, northeastern parts of the state of Puebla, and southern Veracruz through Saturday morning. The rains may cause flash floods and mudslides, especially in mountainous areas, the NHC said.
Hurricane watches are issued for the state of Veracruz on Mexico's Gulf coast. Category 1 Katia (75 mph/120 km/h) is about 185 miles (298 km) off the Mexican coast, slowly moving at 3 miles per hour (4.8 km/h).