Tropical Storm Marie formed early Friday far offshore of the southwestern coast of Mexico, National Hurricane Center forecasters say.
Marie, the 13th named storm of the Eastern Pacific hurricane season, was located about 325 miles south of Acapulco, Mexico, as of 5 a.m. Friday. The system currently has maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. It is moving toward the west-northwest around 17 mph.
On Friday morning, tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 60 miles.
Forecasters expect the tropical storm to strengthen during the next 48 hours. Because the tropical cyclone will be moving through an environment of low shear and very warm waters for the next several days, continued strengthening appears inevitable, forecasters said early Friday. Marie should become a hurricane within 24 hours (by Saturday) and will likely attain at least a Category 3 status.
Surf from the storm is expected to begin hitting the southwestern coast of Mexico this weekend and spread northward to the Baja California peninsula by Sunday or Monday. The swells generated by the storm will likely cause life-threatening surf and rip currents along affected coasts.