Hurricane Ivo Projected To Strike Baja Peninsula

CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico (AP) _ Hurricane Ivo, headed for a possible weekend brush with Baja California's resorts, slowed its forward motion Thursday as it began to curve toward Mexico's Pacific

Thursday, September 20th 2007, 6:48 am

By: News On 6

CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico (AP) _ Hurricane Ivo, headed for a possible weekend brush with Baja California's resorts, slowed its forward motion Thursday as it began to curve toward Mexico's Pacific coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The storm, which was upgraded late Wednesday to a Category 1 hurricane, had sustained winds of about 70 mph, with gusts of 85 mph on Thursday afternoon. It was moving to the north-northwest at about 5 mph, down from 7 mph on a north-northwest track.

At 5 p.m. EDT, it was centered roughly 410 miles south-southwest of Cabo San Lucas at the tip of the Baja California peninsula. It was forecast to take a clockwise turn toward the Baja.

The Hurricane Center said Ivo was likely to weaken into a tropical storm before hitting land Sunday. But it warned that the prediction of the intensity over the weekend was ``highly uncertain'' and urged people in the peninsula to closely monitor Ivo.

Authorities in Cabo San Lucas began advising residents to buy water and food. Emergency officers planned to meet Friday to assess Ivo's progression.

``Ivo's movement has been erratic and it has been changing its trajectory. As authorities we need to be prepared,'' said Cabo San Lucas Mayor Luis Armando Diaz.

The area was hit by Hurricane Henriette hit on Sept. 4, which killed 10 people, including two Japanese tourists, and destroyed about 2,000 homes.