Left Coast gets its fifth

Tropical Storm Elida, the fifth named storm of the Pacific season, formed off southern Mexico and was picking up steam late Saturday.

Forecasters predicted it would continue to strengthen and likely become a hurricane in the next 24 hours, but it was expected to remain well south of the Mexican coast.

On Saturday night, Elida had maximum sustained winds near 60 mph (90 kph) with higher gusts, the U.S. National Hurricane Center reported.

The storm was located about 205 miles (325 kilometers) southwest of Acapulco and was traveling west-northwest at near 16 mph (26 kph).

Large swells and high surf could begin affecting Mexico's southwestern coast over the next couple of days, the center said.