MEXICO CITY, July 4 (WAM) – Tropical Storm “Boni” has strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 130 kilometers per hour off the southwest coast of Mexico yesterday evening, the US National Hurricane Center announced.

Boni, the third hurricane of the northeast Pacific hurricane season, made landfall as a tropical storm on the Caribbean coast near the Nicaragua and Costa Rica borders on Friday evening before crossing the Pacific on Saturday, bringing heavy rain across the region.

In El Salvador, authorities confirmed one death due to heavy rains. El Salvador President Najib Bugele announced on Twitter that classes will be canceled across the country on Monday.

According to Mexico’s National Weather Service, the hurricane could reach Category 2 on Monday night with sustained winds of 177 kilometers per hour as it moves parallel to the coast before moving away from Mexico on Wednesday.

In a statement, the agency said Cyclone Bonnie “could cause waves to rise to life-threatening levels”.

Mexico’s meteorological agency warned that the storm could bring up to five meters of heavy rain, mudslides, flooding, strong winds and waves along the country’s southern Pacific coast.

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