MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Tropical Storm Nate formed off the coast of Nicaragua on Thursday and was being blamed for five deaths in that country as it spun north toward a potential landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast as a hurricane over the weekend.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm could cause dangerous flooding by dumping as much as 15 to 20 inches (38 to 50 centimetres) of rain on Nicaragua, with higher accumulations in a few places.

It had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) Thursday morning and was likely to strengthen over the northwestern Caribbean Sea Thursday night and Friday.

Credit: nhc.noaa.gov

The storm was centred about 10 miles (15 kilometres) south Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, and was moving northwest near 8 mph (13 kph).

In Nicaragua, its arrival followed two weeks of near constant rain that had left the ground saturated and rivers swollen. Authorities placed the whole country on alert and warned of flooding and landslides.

The forecast track showed the storm could brush across the tip of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula late Friday night and then hit the U.S. Gulf Coast as a hurricane by Sunday morning.

In the Pacific, former Tropical Storm Ramon dissipated off the southwestern coast of Mexico.