Hurricane Orlene heads for Mexico’s former prison islands

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Orlene has rapidly strengthened as it swirls toward Mexico’s northwest Pacific coast, with a likely close brush with former prison islands being developed by the government as an ecotourism destination. After growing into a hurricane Saturday, Orlene quickly added power, and its maximum sustained winds were up to 110 mph by late Saturday. That is just below the threshold for a major, Category 3 storm. Forecasters say the storm will likely strengthen more Sunday, then begin weakening as its moves closer to land. Orlene is expected to pass near or over the former Mexican penal colony of Islas Marias on Monday morning and make landfall Monday evening in Sinaloa state, somewhere in the region around the resort city of Mazatlan.