June 19 (UPI) -- Hurricane Erick made landfall in southern Mexico with powerful winds Thursday morning, but has been downgraded to a tropical storm and is expected to dissipate during the overnight hours.
The National Hurricane Center on Thursday afternoon reported Erick had moved over the Mexican state of Guerrero along the country's Pacific coast, about 35 miles north-northeast of Acapulco.
A tropical storm warning is in effect from Punta Maldonado to Tecpan de Galeana, with sustained winds of around 50 mph and flooding rains.
The storm system is moving northwesterly at about 12 mph, according to the NHC.
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"This general motion is expected to continue through tonight," NHC forecasters said. "The center of Erick is forecast to move over southern and southwestern Mexico until it dissipates tonight."
Tropical-storm-force winds will extend up to 45 miles outward from the eye of the storm for a few more hours before dissipating.
Erick is expected to drop 6 to 8 more inches of rain across Guerrero and Oaxaca, but totals could reach as high as 16 inches.
The storm could also produce dangerous flooding and mudslides, particularly in steeper areas.
Up to 6 inches of rain may also fall across the states of Colima, Jalisco and Michoacan.
The storm surge is considered likely to produce coastal flooding along portions of southern Mexico, but is expected to gradually subside through the night.
Swells generated by the tropical storm will continue to affect coastal areas along southern Mexico.
"These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions," NHC forecasters said.
Erick neared landfall along the western coast of Mexico as a Category 4 hurricane earlier Thursday, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph. It had first become a hurricane on Wednesday morning.
Erick is the fifth named storm in the Pacific this year. No storms have formed in the Atlantic yet.
The Eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 to Nov. 30, while the Atlantic season is from June 1 to Nov. 30.
