Vance could be a major Category 3 hurricane Friday as it nears Mexico

MIAMI (AP) — Vance became a hurricane Friday and the National Hurricane Center said it would strengthen rapidly as it nears Mexico's Pacific Coast.Vance was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph) as it churned about 440 miles (710 kilometers) south-southwest of Acapulco, and could become a major Category 3 hurricane before the end of Friday, the center said.It was moving toward the north-northwest near 6 mph (9 kph), and this motion is expected to continue through the weekend, approaching the Puerto Vallarta area by Monday. The hurricane's outer bands were already funneling gale-force winds and rough seas into Mexico's Gulf of Tehuantepec, the center said.It’s been an intense hurricane season in the Pacific Ocean, with storms spawning in assembly-line fashion near Hawaii and Mexico as El Niño conditions worsened by global warming create unusual weather, like this week's severe flooding and tornadoes hitting...