First hurricane of the season forms in Mexico but poses no danger to Cancun holidays

The U.S National Hurricane Centre has announced the first hurricane of the year, which has been forming along Mexico's coast. However, at present the hurricane poses no danger to land and should be moving away from Mexico over the next few days.

The first hurricane of the Pacific season has formed off the coast of Mexico according to the United States National Hurricane Centre (NHC).

Hurricane Celia formed 350 miles off the coast of Acapulco, with the NHC now expecting “some strengthening” of the Category One storm over the next two days.

Celia became the first hurricane of the 2010 season in late June 2010. On June 22, 2010, the U.S. National Hurricane Center reported that Celia was a Category 2 hurricane, and that the storm could be expected to strengthen over the next 48 hours. The same day, the U.S. Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Celia had maximum sustained winds of 90 knots (170 kilometers per hour) with gusts up to 110 knots (200 kilometers per hour). As the storm was projected to move farther away from land, however, no coastal watches or warnings were in effect.

However, despite sustained winds of some 80 miles per hour, the hurricane presently presents no danger to land and is believed to be moving away from Mexico at a rate of nine miles per hour.

Mexico’s oil export facilities in the Gulf of Mexico are also well away from Celia’s path – with the centre of hurricane presently located near latitude 11.8 north, longitude 102.1 west.

The cyclone grew stronger Monday evening in the East Pacific Ocean and was upgraded to a Category 2. However, Celia was centered about 505 miles (815 kilometers) south of Manzanillo, Mexico and the storm is not seen as a threat to land. The hurricane is expected to continue moving west, away from the Mexican coast, for the next couple of days. Celia is expected to get stronger and could become a major hurricane on Tuesday.

Meteorologists have, however, raised concerns hurricanes in the Atlantic - which are expected to start in August - could disrupt efforts to stem the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill off the US coast.

The news follows warnings from the British Met Office last week that as many as 27 storms could be recorded in the North Atlantic this year, well ahead of the long-term average of 12.4 storms per year.

Hurricane season is predicted to continue until November and Caribbean countries will be closely monitoring the situation up until that date to ensure the busy summer Caribbean holidays period remains a safe option for many travellers.