Hurricane Bud grows to Category 3 storm off Mexico

Hurricane Bud grew to Category 3 force off Mexico’s Pacific coast on Monday. Forecasters said it was likely to weaken before a possible brush with the resort-dotted southern tip of the Baja California peninsula late in the week.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Bud had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph at midday Monday. It was centered about 450 miles south-southeast of the tip of the Baja peninsula and was moving northwest at 7 mph.

Forecasters said Bud was expected to strengthen further before a slow weakening trend starts Tuesday.