This NOAA satellite image taken Monday, October 15, 2012 at 11:00 AM EDT shows Hurricane Paul south of the Baja Peninsula. Paul is moving towards the north-northeast and has maximum winds of 90 mph. This hurricane is expected to approach the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula in the next 48 hours. In the Pacific Northwest a frontal system is moving in off the Pacific with cloudiness and rain showers. (AP PHOTO/WEATHER UNDERGROUND)
This NOAA satellite image taken Monday, October 15, 2012 at 11:00 AM EDT shows Hurricane Paul south of the Baja Peninsula. Paul is moving towards the north-northeast and has maximum winds of 90 mph. This hurricane is expected to approach the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula in the next 48 hours. In the Pacific Northwest a frontal system is moving in off the Pacific with cloudiness and rain showers. (AP PHOTO/WEATHER UNDERGROUND)
This NOAA satellite image taken Monday, October 15, 2012 at 10:45 AM EDT shows strong Tropical Storm Rafael east of the Bahamas. Rafael is expected to strengthen into a hurricane in the next few hours. With maximum winds of 70 mph, a Tropical Storm warning has been issued for the island of Bermuda as Rafael moves towards the north-northeast.(AP PHOTO/WEATHER UNDERGROUND)
LOS CABOS, Mexico (AP) ? It was raining, but that didn't scare tourists on Mexico's southern Baja peninsula who saw the impending arrival of Hurricane Paul as a minor inconvenience.
Some went to Medano Beach on Monday to watch the heavy surf. Anthony Curtis of San Diego went for a stroll with his wife.
"It's only rain falling from the clouds," he said. "The hotel told us not to worry."
Paul weakened to a Category 2 storm in the eastern Pacific late Monday as it swirled near Mexico's western coast.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said that Paul's maximum sustained winds had decreased to 110 mph (175 kph) and that the storm was centered about 310 miles (500 kilometers) southwest of the Baja California peninsula's southern tip.
Still, the state government canceled school, prepared shelters and urged resident to stay informed.
"We don't intend to alarm people unnecessarily," said Gov. Marcos Covarrubias Villasenor. "Rather we want citizens to be aware, don't cross streams unnecessarily, and stay in your homes if you don't need to leave to avoid creating traffic. The forecast is for heavy amounts of rainfall in most of the state."
The Mexican government extended its hurricane warning for the west coast northward to Punta Abreojos. The hurricane center said the center of Paul should move inland along the coast by Tuesday night and be near or over the central Baja peninsula on Wednesday.
The hurricane was expected to continue to weaken Tuesday, the hurricane center said.
Paul is on track to bypass the heavily populated tourist areas of Los Cabos at the tip of the peninsula, and the capital, La Paz, on the eastern Gulf of California. But the state government as a precaution readied 143 shelters that could take up to 35,000 people in the tourist zone. Classes were suspended for Tuesday statewide, and ports were closed to small vessels in the capital, La Paz, Los Cabos and Comondu.
The storm was forecast to brush Baja's Pacific coast farther north near Puerto San Carlos, a sparsely populated area of fishing villages, before turning northward along the coastline. The outer cone was forecast to pass over the entire peninsula farther north in the towns of Meluge, Comondu and Loreto.
State civil protection authorities said they had sent advance teams from the federal electricity and water commissions to help maintain services during the storm.
A hurricane warning is in effect for the western coast from Santa Fe north to Puerto San Andresito, and a tropical storm warning on Baja's western flank from north of Puerto San Andresito to Punta Abrejojos and also from Agua Blanca to south of San Fe. A tropical storm watch is in effect for north of Punta Abreojos to El Pocito.
In the Atlantic, meanwhile, Rafael reached hurricane strength late Monday south of Bermuda.
The hurricane center said Rafael's top sustained winds had risen to near 85 mph (140 kph), making it the ninth hurricane of the Atlantic season.
Rafael is centered about 500 miles (805 kilometers) south of Bermuda. It is moving north at 12 mph (19 kph) and forecast to pass near or to the east of Bermuda by late Tuesday.
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