Hurricane Carlos strengthens, threatens Acapulco with heavy rain

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Hurricane Carlos strengthened off Mexico's southwestern Pacific coast on Saturday as it moved closer to the beach resort of Acapulco, threatening to dump heavy rains, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Acapulco's port was closed as Carlos blew maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour (137 kph), moving to within 105 miles (169 km) south of the city in Guerrero state by early evening. Luis Felipe Puente, head of the Mexican government's civil protection agency, warned that downpours, strong waves and high winds were likely to hit Guerrero. The Miami-based NHC said the category 1 hurricane is expected to strengthen and pick up forward speed in the next two days, moving along the Pacific coast. The center's projections showed it could touch land near the industrial port of Manzanillo by Tuesday morning. Heading north at around 2 mph (3 kph), the hurricane is forecast to turn toward the northwest by early Sunday. Carlos is expected to douse the southwestern coast of Mexico with up to 6 inches of rain over the next few days and life-threatening floods and mudslides could result, the center said. A hurricane watch was in effect from the port of Lazaro Cardenas in Michoacan state to Punta San Telmo to the northwest, and tropical storm warnings were also issued for Guerrero. (Reporting by Dave Graham and Noe Torres; Editing by Robin Pomeroy and Alan Crosby)