Willa weakens to tropical storm, torrential rain to continue

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Willa has weakened to a tropical storm but torrential rains will continue in west-central Mexico.

The meteorologists said Wednesday that Willa is moving toward the northeast at speeds near 20 mph (32 kph), movement expected to continue during the next 12 hours.

The Hurricane Center added that the government of Mexico has discontinued all coastal tropical cyclone warnings for the country.

Willa came ashore about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Mazatlan, a resort city that is home to high-rise hotels and about 500,000 people, including many U.S. and Canadian expatriates.