Tropical Storm Andres Forms in Pacific off Mexico

June 23, 2009

Forecasters say Tropical Storm Andres, currently located off the southwestern coast of Mexico, is strengthening and could become a hurricane in the next day or two. It's still not clear how close the storm will come to making landfall, but a tropical storm watch was issued from Zihuatanejo northward to Manzanillo and heavy rains were expected along the coast. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Andres' center, as of 5 a.m. EDT Monday, was about 190 miles (305 km) south of Zihuatanejo and 310 miles (505 km) south-southeast of Manzanillo. Andres was moving slowly toward the west-northwest near 3 mph (6 kph). Maximum sustained winds were near 50 mph (85 kph) with higher gusts. Forecasters say Andres could become a hurricane with sustained winds of at least 74 mph in the next day or two.