Hurricane Beatriz bore down on Mexico's Pacific coast today, putting tourist areas and major ports on alert for heavy rainfall and flash floods, the US National Hurricane Centre said.
The eye of the hurricane was about 80km northwest of Manzanillo, with sustained winds near 90 miles per hour, and was expected to move north along the coast through the day, the centre said in an update at noon Irish time.
The storm sparked hurricane warnings along the Mexican coast from Lazaro Cardenas and northwest to Cabo Corrientes. The storm, a Category 1 storm on the Saffir-Simpson intensity scale, is expected to begin weakening later today or tonight.
Mexico has no major oil installations in the Pacific but its coast is dotted with beaches popular with US tourists.
The Mexican government said the coastal states of Guerrero, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco should prepare three to four metres waves and up to 30cm of rain.
A storm surge was expected to cause coastal flooding in the hurricane warning area.
Hurricane Adrian, which formed earlier this month and caused no damage, was the first hurricane of the 2011 Pacific season.
Forecasters are expecting a rash of storms the Atlantic this year, with some predicting at least five major hurricanes of Category 3 or stronger.
Reuters