Karina strengthens into a Category 4 hurricane in the Pacific far from land, forecasters say

Tropical Storm Karina has intensified into a hurricane in the Pacific Ocean, with the potential to develop into a major storm this week, according to forecasters. The cyclone's center is currently located far out at sea and poses no threat to land. Karina currently has maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour, placing it at Category 1 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

To reach the threshold of a major hurricane, a storm must attain at least Category 3 strength. The storm is positioned approximately 820 miles southwest of the southernmost point of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula and is currently moving northwest at a speed of 15 miles per hour. While Karina is not expected to make landfall, swells generated by the system are anticipated to generate hazardous surf and rip current conditions along certain sections of the southwestern Mexican coast and the Baja California Peninsula.

Additionally, another tropical storm, Lowell, is situated 1,150 miles southeast of Hawaii and is also not expected to affect any landmasses. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted a below-average Atlantic hurricane season due to the influence of El Nino. This forecast anticipates a total of eight to fourteen named storms, with three to six of these storms expected to reach hurricane strength and one to three of them potentially intensifying into major hurricanes.