Mexico posts Tropical Storm Odile watch

MIAMI, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- The Mexican government posted a tropical storm watch Friday as Pacific Tropical Storm Odile became better organized, U.S. forecasters in Miami reported.

The watch extended from Punta Maldonado westward to Zihuatanejo.

At 2 a.m. PDT, the center of the 16th named Pacific storm of the season was located about 105 miles south of Puerto Angel, and about 285 miles southeast of Acapulco, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami reported.

Maximum sustained winds were near 60 mph with higher gusts, and some strengthening was forecast during the next 24 hours. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center.

The system was moving toward the west-northwest near 9 mph, but was expected to slow in the next two days, the report said. The forecast track shows Odile moving parallel and close to the shore but not making direct landfall, the NHC said.

The center warned of possible life-threatening flash floods and mudslides in the southern states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas with as much as eight inches of rain possible as the storm passes.