MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Hurricane Dora strengthened to a Category 2 storm in the Pacific Ocean off Mexico on Wednesday and could become a major hurricane but is not expected to hit land, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Dora, the fourth named storm of the Pacific hurricane season, churned 215 miles south of the port city of Lazaro Cardenas with winds of 105 miles per hour, the Miami-based hurricane center said.
Mexico has no major oil installations on its Pacific coast, but sugar- and coffee-growing cropland in southern states could be soaked by the storm.
The hurricane, a Category 2 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity, is moving north parallel to Mexico's Pacific coastline, just missing the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.
Additional strengthening is expected over the next day or two and Dora could become a major hurricane later on Wednesday, the center said.
Tropical storm conditions along the coast could cause life-threatening waves and rip tides, the center said, but all of Mexico's Pacific ports remained open on Wednesday morning.
(Reporting by Rachel Uranga; Editing by Will Dunham)