MIAMI \u2014 A hurricane watch was in effect Tuesday for southern Mexico as a tropical depression in the eastern Pacific gained strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The depression was likely to become a tropical storm later Tuesday and a hurricane Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph and was moving west-northwest at 12 mph, forecasters said. The depression would be named Erick when its winds reach tropical storm strength of 39 mph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was centered about 495 miles southeast of Punta Maldonado in Mexico\u2019s Guerrero state and was forecast to approach the coast by late Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A hurricane watch was posted for a stretch of the Pacific coast from Bahia De Huatulco, which is in Oaxaca state, to Punta Maldonado. A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions, with winds exceeding 74 mph, are possible in the area within two days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A tropical storm watch was in effect further south from Salina Cruz to Bahia De Huatulco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heavy rainfall was forecast for parts of Oaxaca and Guerrero with lighter amounts in Chiapas, Tabasco and Veracruz states as well as parts of El Salvador and Guatemala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n