MEXICO CITY, June 26 (Reuters) - Storm Enrique on Saturday morning became a hurricane and continued to intensify rapidly off the coast of Mexico, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said, as tropical storm alerts were issued for parts of Mexico amid warnings of flash floods.
Enrique, currently about 230 miles (370 km) south of Cabo Corrientes in Mexico, is expected to become a category 2 hurricane by Sunday, NHC said.
Current forecasts suggest Enrique will remain offshore roughly parallel to the southwestern coast of Mexico over coming days, NHC said.
There is a tropical storm alert for the Mexican coastline stretching from Zihuatanejo, in the western Guerrero state, to Cabo Corrientes, in Jalisco state.
Enrique is expected to produce 6 to 12 inches of rain through Monday, and in some places as much as 18 inches (45.72 cm) over Colima and coastal sections of Michoacan and Jalisco in southwest Mexico, NHC said.
"These amounts would likely produce life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides over portions of southwestern Mexico," NHC said.
(Reporting by Abraham Gonzalez; Editing by Drazen Jorgic and Bill Berkrot)
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