TAMPA, Fla — Grace regained its hurricane status Friday morning in the Gulf of Mexico.
The season's second hurricane made landfall early Thursday morning in Mexico before weakening back down to a tropical storm.
According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm first came ashore as an 80-mph Category 1 hurricane around 5:45 a.m. EDT Thursday just south of Tulum, Mexico, along the eastern Yucatán Peninsula.
As of the 5 p.m. Friday advisory, the NHC reports sustained winds are now reaching 90 mph and Hurricane Grace is moving west at 10 mph.
The storm's second landfall is expected along the coast of mainland Mexico sometime Friday night.
After making landfall, the NHC says Grace should weaken rapidly as it moves into the mountains of Central Mexico.
About 6-8 inches of rain with isolated totals of 18 inches are expected Friday through Sunday over Veracruz, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, northern Queretaro and the eastern San Luis Potosi. Flash and urban flooding is possible and could lead to mudslides.
Dangerous storm surge could raise water levels by 3-5 feet along the immediate coast is also possible.
Grace's forecast track does not include Florida in its cone of uncertainty.
A hurricane warning is in effect for:
- The coast of mainland Mexico from Puerto Veracruz to Cabo Rojo
A tropical storm warning is in effect for:
- The coast of mainland Mexico from north of Cabo Rojo to Barra del Tordo.
Grace isn't the only system we're currently tracking in the Atlantic as Tropical Storm Henri could pose a threat to New England by late this weekend.