Tropical Storm Blanca weakens further as it moves farther out to sea
Blanca followed on the footsteps of Tropical Storm Andres, which became the earliest named storm in the eastern Pacific Ocean on May 9.
The eastern Pacific Ocean's second named storm of the season -- Blanca -- is showing signs of weakening and will continue to lose strength as it heads farther out to sea.
The latest update from the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) on Tuesday evening has Tropical Storm Blanca situated 915 kilometres south of the southern tip of Baja, Calif.
SEE ALSO: Andres, the earliest tropical storm of the eastern Pacific holds on
Blanca is currently moving west-northwest near 13 km/h, and this motion is expected to continue with a gradual slowdown and turn towards the west over the next several days.
Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 85 km/h with higher gusts. Gradual weakening is forecast during the next several days, and Blanca is expected to weaken to a tropical depression by Thursday.
Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Andres came to life as the region's first named storm of the year on Sunday, May 9 -- six days ahead of the May 15 start of the eastern Pacific Ocean hurricane season, which will conclude Nov. 30.
Andres is the earliest named storm ever in the eastern Pacific, beating out the previous record set by Tropical Storm Adrian in 2017 -- by just a mere 12 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).