(CNN)Grace strengthened once again into a hurricane over water Friday morning and is poised to make its second Mexico landfall later in the day, bringing heavy rain likely to cause flooding through the weekend.
Hurricane Grace is forecast to move across the southwestern Gulf of Mexico on Friday before making landfall along the coast by day's end, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, with higher gusts, around 7 a.m. CT.
"More strengthening is likely until Grace makes landfall. After landfall, Grace should weaken rapidly as it moves into the mountains of central Mexico," the hurricane center said Friday morning.
A hurricane warning is in effect for Mexico's coast from Puerto Veracruz north to Cabo Rojo. A warning means hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area; a watch indicates hurricane conditions are possible in that area.
Mexico's Veracruz, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, northern Queretaro and eastern San Luis Potosi may see 6 to 12 inches of rain with isolated totals up to 18 inches through Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said. Those conditions could lead to flash and urban flooding as well as mudslides.
Additionally, a storm surge of 3 to 5 feet above normal tide levels is forecast, according to the hurricane center. Swells across the area are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
"Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves," the center said.
Grace already hit Mexico once before
When Grace hit Mexico the first time, it plunged through the Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday and weakened to a tropical storm, sustaining 80 mph with higher gusts
The eastern coast of the Yucatán, including Cancun, Cozumel and Punta Herrero, were under a hurricane warning since Tuesday due to Grace becoming better organized as it moved west, battering Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
Businesses braced for landfall, and at least 125 tourists were evacuated from hotels to shelters, Quintana Roo state Gov. Carlos Joaquín González said Wednesday.
"In Tulum, hotels have been evacuated, and the tourists taken to different hotel shelters," González said on Twitter.
In Quintana Roo, work-related activities were suspended. Local leaders asked businesses to shut down temporarily, and urged residents to stay at home or in shelters.
Earlier this week, Grace also passed over Haiti, which was in recovering from a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that killed least 1,941 people. About 1.2 million people, including 540,000 children, were affected by the earthquake, according to UNICEF.
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Hurricane Grace poised to make landfall for second time in Mexico - CNN
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