Tropical Storm Karina Becomes a Hurricane; Flash Flood Hits Grand Canyon

Tropical Storm Karina has strengthened into a hurricane in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The news came on Sunday amid warning it could become a major storm this week.

Karina had maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour (130 kilometers per hour), the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said, making it a Category 1 hurricane. A major hurricane is Category 3 or greater.

The cyclone's center is currently far out sea and is not threatening land.

The storm was located about 820 miles (1,325 kilometers) southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula and was moving and was moving northwest at 15 miles per hour (24 kilometers per hour) a forecast path farther out into the Pacific.

While Karina was expected to stay well away from land, swells from the storm were likely to cause dangerous surf and rip current conditions along parts of southwest Mexico and the Baja California Peninsula, the hurricane center said.

Elsewhere in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Lowell was 1,150 miles (1,850 kilometers) southeast of Hawaii, and it too posed no threat to land.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has forecast a below-average Atlantic hurricane season due to El Nino.

It predicted eight to 14 named storms, with three to six of them reaching hurricane strength and one to three intensifying to major hurricanes.

Meanwhile, one person died and about 15 people are missing or unaccounted for after a major flash flood at the Grand Canyon forced evacuations, pushed large boulders into the Colorado River and knocked out the sole water pipeline that serves tourists and residents, the National Park Service said on Sunday.

The body of a 46-year-old man was recovered Sunday evening near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River, the park service said without providing additional details. Officials from an Arizona coroner's office were on scene.

The flooding Saturday in Bright Angel Creek, which flows into the river, led to more than 60 people being airlifted from the depths of the canyon. The park service asked anyone with details about hikers or campers still unaccounted for to get in touch.