HOUSTON – After a lifespan of about 24 hours, Tropical Storm Helene was downgraded to a tropical depression as the system made landfall on the southeastern Mexico coast Saturday afternoon.
Moving inland at about 5 miles per hour, the storm is expected to dissipate as it moves further inland. It's late afternoon location was about 75 miles WNW of Tampico, Mexico.
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Because it formed so close to the coast, Helene was never expected to be a strong storm and it has performed as expected producing locally heavy rains in the Northern Veracruz and Southern Tamaulipas states.
Two to 4 inches has been the norm with isolated amounts of 8 inches possible, as maximum sustained winds have now dropped.
Helene's dissipation should be hastened as it runs into the higher terrain of the Eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre within the next 24 hours.