(Adds upgrade to Category 4)
MEXICO CITY, June 9 (Reuters) - Hurricane Adrian, the first of the 2011 Pacific season, became a Category 4 storm on Thursday as it moved farther out to sea to the northwest, away from Mexico's coastline.
The hurricane, with 130-mph (210-kph) winds, was "well off the Pacific coast of Mexico," the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane is expected to lose strength by the weekend as it moves farther out into the Pacific.
Mexico has no oil installations in the Pacific but its coastal area is dotted with beach resorts popular with U.S. tourists.
In its 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT) advisory, the Miami-based hurricane center said the storm was 320 miles (520 km) south of Manzanillo, Mexico. It was moving west-northwest at 9 mph (15 kph).
Adrian developed from a tropical storm on Wednesday when its winds exceeded 74 mph (119 kph). As a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, it is considered a major storm.
Last summer, Hurricane Frank killed at least three people in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. (Reporting by Elinor Comlay and Patrick Rucker; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
