Flossie becomes a hurricane off Mexico's Pacific coast after rapidly strengthening

MEXICO: Flossie has strengthened into a hurricane off Mexico's southwestern Pacific coast. The US National Hurricane Center in Miami said Flossie became a Category 1 hurricane Monday night and has maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph).

The hurricane center said Flossie was moving west-northwest off the Mexican coast and was about 175 miles (280 kilometers) south of Manzanillo.

Flossie was expected to skirt the coast for a few days while dropping rain on several Mexican states.

Tropical storm Flossie continued to gain steam off Mexico's southwestern Pacific coast on Monday afternoon and was projected to turn into a hurricane overnight. Meanwhile, the remnants of what was tropical storm barry dumped rain on eastern Mexico.

Flossie strengthened with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph). It was centered about 170 miles (270 kilometers) southwest of Zihuatanejo and was moving northwest at 12 mph.

Mexico's government issued a tropical storm warning along the southwestern coast from Punta San Telmo to Playa Perula.

A tropical storm watch remained in effect for the southwest coast from Zihuatanejo to Cabo Corrientes. A watch means tropical storm conditions are possible in the area within two days.

Flossie is expected to rapidly intensify into a hurricane late Monday or early Tuesday, then skirt the coast for a few days. While its center is forecast to remain offshore, moderate rain was likely in parts of Oaxaca, Guerrero, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco through early next week.

Meanwhile, the remnants of Barry were bringing heavy rain to Mexico's Gulf coast after it came ashore as a tropical depression south of Tampico with maximum sustained winds of 30 mph, the US National Hurricane Center in Miami said.