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After forming close to shore, Tropical Storm Helene headed north along Mexico's Gulf coast early Saturday posing a threat to areas where thousands of people were still recovering from flooding spawned last week by Hurricane Ernesto. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Helene sprang up Friday then weakened to barely tropical storm strength by nighttime, but its forecast said the storm could strengthen again before making an expected landfall Saturday. Meanwhile, Portugal posted warnings for the central and eastern Azores islands as Tropical Storm Gordon moved eastward across the Atlantic and later turned into a hurricane.

The National Hurricane Center said Gordon had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and was headed east at 18 mph. Helene had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was moving northwest at 7 mph late Friday. It was centered about 65 miles east of Tuxpan. Landfall was predicted for the northern part of Veracruz, a lush coastal state with hundreds of towns and villages sitting along streams and rivers that can swell dangerously in heavy rain. Many were evacuated as Ernesto approached last week, and flood damage made some 10,000 people homeless. Mexico's government declared a state of emergency in more than 100 population centers in Veracruz and was providing them with emergency aid. The country's national weather service warned of intense rains and winds along the Veracruz and Tamaulipas coasts, with heavy rain, hail and lightning possible. Helene was predicted to bring 5 inches to 10 inches of rain, with as many as 15 inches across northeastern portions of Mexico.

A storm surge could raise water levels by as much as 1 to 2 feet above normal along the immediate coast and to the north of where landfall is made. Heavy rain was expected in the city of Tampico, an oil-refining center and important port in the southernmost part of Tamaulipas state. The Tampico metropolitan area has roughly 790,000 inhabitants, sits just above sea level and is surrounded by lakes and lagoons that are already full and could easily flood in the event of heavy rains. -MSNBC