Tropical storms loom in Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

Tropical Storm Chantal raced toward the Lesser Antilles in the Atlantic Monday and Tropical Storm Erick hovered off Mexico in the Pacific, forecasters said. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said in its 2 a.m. EDT advisory that Chantal was producing sustained winds of 40 miles per hour about 775 miles east-southeast of Barbados. The storm was heading westward at 26 mph. The hurricane center has issued a tropical storm warning for Barbados, Dominica and Saint Lucia, according to a report of the United Press International (UPI). Erick was about 140 miles south-southeast of the southern tip of Baja California. The hurricane center said Erick had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph up to 70 miles from its center as it headed west-northwest at 9 mph. A tropical storm warning was in effect for Baja California Sur from Santa Fe to La Paz. Erick was forecast to pass near or just south of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula Monday morning, and then gradually weaken during the next two days.