(Reuters) – Tropical Storm Beatriz near Mexico’s Pacific coast is forecast to intensify and become a hurricane later on Friday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in an advisory, bringing high winds, storm surge and heavy rains.
Located about 70 miles (115 km) south-southwest of the port city of Zihuatanejo, Beatriz is packing maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 km/h), with higher gusts, the Miami-based forecaster said.
Beatriz is moving northwest at 13 mph, it said, and forecast to be a hurricane while the center moves near or over the coast.
On Thursday, the Mexican government issued warnings for popular beach resorts as the storm approached shore; the government also issued a hurricane watch for parts of the neighboring state of Jalisco.
A dangerous storm surge – accompanied by large, potentially destructive waves – could produce significant coastal flooding, Mexico’s national meteorological service forecast said.
Beatriz would likely bring tropical rainfall to Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan and Guerrero as well as heavy rains to Oaxaca and Chiapas, it added.
(Reporting by Natalia Siniawski. Editing by Jane Merriman)
