MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Celia in the Pacific off southern Mexico was set to become the first hurricane of the 2010 season on Sunday but it was moving away from the coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Centre said.
Celia, the third named storm of the Pacific hurricane season, was 345 miles (555 km) south of the tourist resort of Acapulco, the Miami-based hurricane centre said.
"Celia is expected to become a hurricane later today or tonight," the centre said in a statement.
With winds up to 65 mph (100 kph), Celia was moving towards the west at 7 mph (11 kph) and was expected to remain well offshore from Mexico and is not a threat to land, the centre said.
Tropical storm Blas, which on Thursday became the second named storm of the Pacific hurricane season, was 430 miles (695 km) south of Baja California and was expected to continue to move west, away from the coast.
In May, Tropical Storm Agatha slammed into the Guatemalan coast and caused flooding and mudslides that killed at least 180 people.
Mexico's key oil export facilities are in the Gulf of Mexico, well away from Celia's path.
(Reporting by Noel Randewich, Editing by Sandra Maler)
