Hurricane Amanda strengthens in Pacific, still no threat

The hurricane's maximum sustained winds were hitting 120 mph Tuesday morning, making it a Category 3 storm. But the U.S. National Hurricane Center said weakening is expected to resume and Amanda should become a tropical storm by Thursday.

The hurricane was centered about 585 miles south-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and is moving north-northwest near 6 mph.

INTERACTIVE:: Track Hurricane Amanda

Over the weekend, Amanda became the strongest May eastern Pacific hurricane on record as peak winds roared to 155 mph Sunday morning, AccuWeather reported.

That made it a strong Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity. Amanda is also the earliest Category 4 hurricane in the eastern Pacific.

Though they seldom affect land, eastern Pacific hurricanes sometimes hit the west coast of Mexico. Very few have ever had any impact on the USA.

Contributing: Doyle Rice, USA TODAY