MEXICO CITY (AP) - Hilary, the sixth hurricane of the season, made its debut Sunday off the coast of the southwestern Mexican state of Baja California. The National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, upgraded Hilary from a tropical storm about when it developed maximum-sustained winds of 75 mph, the minimum strength necessary to be named a hurricane.

At 5 p.m. EDT, Hilary was located about 275 miles south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California and was traveling north-northwest at about 12 mph, the Hurricane Center reported. The hurricane was expected to continue in that direction and gradually weaken over the next 12 to 24 hours.