HispanicBusiness

Tropical Storm Ernesto made landfall near the city of Coatzacoals, Mexico, Thursday, sporting winds of 60 mph, U.S. forecasters said.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Ernesto's center was about 55 miles west of the city at 5 p.m. EDT, moving west at 10 mph.

Well below the 74 mph hurricane threshold, Ernesto was expected to weaken once its mass is over land, the center said.

Tropical storm-force winds extend 140 miles from the center, the NHC said.

Ernesto was expected to produce rainfall of 3-6 inches in the Mexican states of Veracruz, Tabasco, Puebla and Oaxaca through Friday, producing life-threatening flash floods in higher terrain.

A storm surge, with dangerous waves 1-3 feet above normal tide levels, was likely along the Gulf of Mexico in the warning area.

Ernesto made its first of two landfalls Tuesday night as a Category 1 hurricane on the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula before advancing across southern Mexico.