ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) – Hurricane John grew into a powerful Category 3 storm off Mexico’s coast on Tuesday, threatening to cause flooding and ruin vacations in some Pacific resorts, but it was not expected to directly hit land.

John became the sixth Pacific hurricane of the season earlier in the day. By late afternoon, the U.S. National Hurricane Center it had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph, and predicted it would grow even stronger by Wednesday.

It was not expected to affect the United States. Long-term predictions had it moving to the northwest, parallel to the coastline, with its outer bands lashing the resorts of Acapulco, Ixtapa, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos. John could threaten landslides and flooding before heading out to sea, the hurricane center said.

Dozens of small, coastal communities were on alert as forecasters warned the hurricane could dump up to 8 inches of rain. Tropical storm warnings were issued for a 300-mile stretch of coastline from Lagunas de Chacahua in Oaxaca north to Cabo Corrientes, just south of Puerto Vallarta.

The hurricane was centered about 175 miles south of Acapulco and was moving northwest at 10 mph.

The storm was already bringing winds and rain to a swath of coastline from Puerto Escondido, a beach community popular with surfers in the southern state of Oaxaca to Acapulco.

In Acapulco, the storm was keeping fishermen on shore, while beachgoers had to put up with light rain and heavy clouds. But the airport was still open, and there were few signs that residents were preparing for the hurricane.