TS Ivo grows in Pacific off Mexico; Chantal ebbs in Atlantic

MEXICO CITY – Tropical Storm Ivo gained strength off the southwestern coast of Mexico on Thursday but wasn’t expected to threaten land, while the once-Tropical Storm Chantal meandered in the Atlantic as a tropical depression far from North America.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center had said Ivo was likely to become a hurricane by Friday, but the agency’s afternoon forecast predicted that would not happen. Regardless, Ivo was expected to remain well clear of shore as it moved northwestward roughly parallel to the coast.

The storm had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph). It was centred about 545 miles (875 kilometres) south-southwest of the tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula and moving to the west-northwest at 9 mph (15 kph).

Meanwhile, Chantal in the North Atlantic also posed no threat to land as it weakened out in the North Atlantic, the hurricane centre said. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph) and was centred about 805 miles (1,295 kilometres) southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland.