Hurricane Kay intensifies to Category 2, disrupts flights in northern Mexico

MEXICO CITY, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Hurricane Kay has strengthened into a Category 2 storm, packing maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 km/h), authorities said Wednesday, as airlines reported flight disruptions in Mexico's northwest.

The storm is located over the Pacific Ocean some 210 miles (340 km) southwest from the tip of Baja California, home to the beach resort Cabo San Lucas, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Although weakening is forecast to begin by Thursday, Kay is expected to remain a large hurricane when it passes near the west-central coast of the Baja California peninsula and is set to intensify on Wednesday, the NHC said.

Mexican airlines VivaAerobus, Volaris and Aeromexico all said in statements that Kay had prompted cancellations of domestic flights to the popular tourist region of Los Cabos.

The NHC said hurricane conditions were expected across the west-central coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula on Thursday, and that weather warnings are now in place in the area, with expected heavy rainfall.

Over the weekend, Kay killed three people in the state of Guerrero and in the port of Acapulco, on the Pacific Coast, as well as damaging houses. (Reporting by Isabel Woodford; Additional by Lizbeth Diaz; Editing by Anthony Esposito and Leslie Adler)