Emilia strengthens to major storm

MIAMI, July 9 (UPI) -- Emilia strengthened into a major hurricane in the eastern Pacific Monday but did not threaten coastal areas, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

At 11 p.m. EDT, the center said Emilia was about 680 miles south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, carrying maximum sustained winds of 120 mph and moving west-northwest at 14 mph. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect.

Emilia is a Category 3 hurricane and was expected to strengthen further -- and could become a Category 4 storm Monday night or Tuesday, the hurricane center said.

While Emilia gained strength, meteorologists said Daniel -- though still a hurricane -- has started to weaken and was expected to become a tropical storm or depression Monday night or Tuesday.

At 11 p.m. EDT, Daniel was about 1,545 miles west-southwest of Baja California, and was moving west at 17 mph with top sustained winds of 75 mph.

Daniel was forecast to keep moving west for the next two days, forecasters said.