Storms swell, weaken in Atlantic, Pacific

MIAMI, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- One of two tropical storms in the Atlantic could become a hurricane while a storm in the Pacific could weaken to a remnant low, forecasters said Thursday.

None of the three storms prompted watches or warnings, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said in its 5 a.m. EDT advisory.

In the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Ophelia is expected to strengthen and become a hurricane Friday, the center said.

Ophelia, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph, was about 180 miles northeast of the northern Leeward Islands, moving north-northwest at 7 mph, the center said. Ophelia was expected to remain on its path with some increase in forward speed over the next couple of days, the hurricane center said.

Tropical Storm Philippe was moving toward the west-northwest with little change in strength observed, the center said.

Philippe, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, was about 1,175 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands, moving at 13 mph. It was expected to remain on its west-northwest track for the next several days and should weaken after that, the center said.

In the Pacific, Tropical Storm Hilary was expected to weaken, the center said.

Hilary, with winds of 60 mph, was about 675 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico. The storm was expected to shift to the northwest by late Friday or early Saturday, and weaken to a low pressure system by Friday, the hurricane center said.