Hurricane Paul heads for Mexico's Los Cabos

MEXICO CITY, Oct 23 (Reuters) Hurricane Paul headed for the posh beach and golfing resorts on the tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula after strengthening from a tropical storm on Sunday, the US National Hurricane Center said.

Now at Category 1 strength, the weakest on forecasters' five-step scale of hurricanes' power, Paul had maximum sustained winds near 85 mph (140 kph), and was expected to become more powerful, the Miami-based center said.

''Paul is definitely on a strengthening trend,'' it said.

When a tropical storm's top sustained winds reach 74 miles per hour (119 kph) it is designated a Category 1 hurricane.

Forecasters said Paul would pass near Los Cabos, which is popular with US golfers and other tourists, on Tuesday afternoon before heading for the Mexican mainland via the Sea of Cortez.

The Baja California peninsula extends south from the US state of California. Hurricanes that enter the Sea of Cortez, surrounded on three sides by land, tend to fizzle out after running aground, posing no risk to the United States.

The Mexican government issued a hurricane watch for the southern tip of the promontory.

Los Cabos had been expected to receive a direct hit from Paul, but the hurricane center's latest forecasts predicted its eye would pass just a few miles (kilometres) offshore.

Areas of the mainland near the storm's predicted path had taken a hit from another storm, Hurricane Lane, in September.

Lane missed the resorts before crashing into the mainland and leaving a path of destruction on Mexico's Pacific Coast, killing three.

Two weeks earlier, Hurricane John forced tourists to flee but spared them in the end. Three people died when it slammed ashore farther north on the peninsula.

''(Paul's) been strengthening very quickly,'' said Francisco Cota, head of civil protection for Los Cabos. ''It's very small and compact, but it's bringing a lot of rain with it and it could do us a lot of harm.'' The resorts are in low season, with most hotels currently about half full, one hotel manager said.

Ruben Cevallos, manager on duty at the sprawling Sheraton Hacienda del Mar resort and spa in Cabo San Lucas, said there were no immediate plans to evacuate. He said guests were calm and staff were keeping them abreast of Paul's progress.

''The last hurricane didn't do much to us,'' he said. ''But whenever we have an alert like this, we get prepared.'' Reuters SSC VP1126