MEXICO CITY — Jimena developed into a dangerous Category 4 storm off Mexico's Pacific coast Sunday, threatening to hit the Baja California peninsula as a major hurricane in coming days.
Jimena kicked up surf along the northwestern coast and generated strong winds that bent trees in the resort town of Zihuatanejo, uprooting at least one. Strong waves and wind prevented a couple on a boat from reaching port, forcing them to spend the night at sea, said Zihuatanejo coast guard official Jose Angel Lara.
If the storm stays on its northwestern track, it could carry hurricane-force winds to the tip of resort-dotted Baja California by late today and slam into the peninsula by Wednesday morning, said Richard Pasch, a senior specialist with the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Pasch noted that Jimena's path "is subject to some uncertainty."
He said it is difficult to predict how strong the storm will be when it nears Baja, although it islikely to be dangerous.
"I think it's going to be a substantial hurricane by the time it approaches them," he said.
A public advisory issued by the hurricane center advised residents in west Mexico and the south part of the Baja peninsula to keep tabs on Jimena.
Economists from around the world were scheduled to attend a conference sponsored by the Paris-based Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development Tuesday and Wednesday on the peninsula.
It was not clear if the conference would still take place; the organization's public relations office was closed Sunday.
Jimena had maximum sustained winds near 140 mph Sunday and was moving west northwest at 8 mph.
It was centered about 270 miles south of Cabo Corrientes, Mexico, a coastal town in the western state of Jalisco.
Farther out in the Pacific, a weakening Tropical Storm Kevin had top winds of 45 mph and was centered about 940 miles southwest of the Baja peninsula's southern tip.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 08/31/2009