Tropical Storm Patricia Threatens Mexico

Tropical Storm Patricia Prompts Hurricane Warning for Mexico

Tropical Storm Patricia picked up strength off southern Mexico on Wednesday, prompting officials to issue a hurricane warning for parts of the country's Pacific coast.

Patricia had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph) and was forecast to strengthen further into a hurricane Thursday and make landfall Friday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

A hurricane warning was in effect for the Mexican coast from Cabo Corrientes to Punta San Telmo, a stretch of coastline that includes the port city of Manzanillo.

A tropical storm warning was declared from Punta San Telmo east to Lazaro Cardenas.

The storm's center was about 240 miles (385 kilometers) south of Acapulco with movement toward the west-northwest near 15 mph (24 kph).

The Hurricane Center said Patricia was expected to bring heavy rain to the states of Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan and Guerrero.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/tropical-storm-patricia-prompts-watches-mexican-coast-34619964