.gif)
Tropical Storm Rick has formed off Mexico's Pacific coast and could become a hurricane within a day, US forecasters said late Thursday.
At 0300 GMT, Rick was located 345 miles (555 kilometers) south-southeast of the resort city of Acapulco and churning west-northwestward near nine miles (15 km) per hour, the US National Hurricane Center said.
"Continued strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours," the Miami-based center added, noting the storm's top winds had increased to 50 miles (85 km) per hour.
Rick, it said, was "intensifying quickly."
In September, Hurricane Jimena struck Mexico's Baja California peninsula, leaving one person dead and causing widespread flooding and property damage.
