Hurricane John now Category 4 off Mexico

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico - Hurricane John has become a dangerous Category 4 storm and is likely to strengthen further while traveling closer to Mexico's Pacific coast than previously thought, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Wednesday.
Packing maximum sustained winds of 135 mph, and gusts up to 161 mph, John was already lashing some tourist resorts with heavy winds and rain from its outer bands. Hurricane-force winds were likely to begin raking beaches south of Puerto Vallarta late Wednesday, then come close to hitting land early Thursday. The storm would then nick Los Cabos at the tip of the Baja California Peninsula on Friday before heading out to sea.
John was running parallel to the coast and was not expected to affect the United States.
At 11 a.m. ET, John was centered about 160 miles west of Acapulco and 95 miles south of Lazaro Cardenas. It was moving northwest at 12 mph.
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