The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Vance has rapidly strengthened into a Category 2 storm as it nears Mexico’s Pacific Coast. According to an advisory from the Miami-based center, Vance had maximum sustained winds of 110 mph as it churned about 385 miles south-southwest of Acapulco. The center says it was nearing major hurricane strength, though gradual weakening was expected to start by Saturday. It’s been an intense hurricane season in the Pacific Ocean, with storms spawning in assembly-line fashion near Hawaii and Mexico as El Niño conditions worsened by global warming create unusual weather. Vance would be the seventh major hurricane in a row this year in the Pacific.