Tropical Storm Marco hits Mexican coast, 7 Oct. 2008

Tropical Storm Marco is pummeling the central Mexican coast, after making landfall early Tuesday about 90 kilometers north of Veracruz.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the compact storm has maximum winds of 100 kilometers an hour and is moving inland.  It is expected to weaken quickly as it moves over the high mountains of central Mexico.  Forecasters say the storm could break up completely late Tuesday or Wednesday.

Mexican authorities discontinued a hurricane watch for the region after Marco did not reach hurricane strength as expected.
 
But a tropical storm warning remains in effect from Veracruz north to Cabo Rojo. The storm is expected to dump five to 15 centimeters of rain across eastern parts of central Mexico.

Meanwhile, forecasters say Hurricane Norbert continues to move aimlessly in the Pacific Ocean off the Mexican coast.

The storm has winds of 120 kilometers per hour, and is centered several hundred kilometers south of the Mexican peninsula of Baja California.  

The hurricane center says Norbert should pick up strength during the next two days, but is not expected to threaten land.  

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.