Eugene becomes season's 5th hurricane

MIAMI, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Eugene grew from a tropical storm into the fifth hurricane of the eastern Pacific season Monday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

As of 2 p.m. PDT, Eugene had muscled up to the point it was producing maximum sustained winds of 75 mph with higher gusts, storm monitors said. The Category 1 hurricane was about 410 miles southwest of Zihuatanejo, Mexico, heading west-northwest at 13 mph.

The hurricane center in Miami said there were no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Eugene was expected to strengthen as it tracks in roughly the same direction for the next couple of days.

The storm was pushing hurricane gales outward up to 10 miles from its center, with tropical storm-force winds extending up to 85 miles.