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

MEXICO CITY — Flossie has strengthened into a hurricane off Mexico’s southwestern Pacific coast. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Flossie became a Category 1 hurricane Monday night and has maximum sustained winds of 80 mph.

The hurricane center said Flossie was about 174 miles south of Manzanillo and was moving west-northwest off the Mexican coast at 10 mph.

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

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

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

While its center is forecast to remain offshore, rainfall up to 6 inches was likely for parts of the Mexican states of Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima, and Jalisco into Wednesday, with the possibility of life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in steep terrain.

Flossie is forecast to strengthen over the next 36 hours before weakening over cooler waters.