Hurricane Rachel spun up off Mexico's Pacific coast this week with 90 mph winds, enough to put four states on alert — but by Thursday, the storm was already losing its punch and sliding out to sea.

The National Hurricane Center placed Rachel roughly 200 miles west-southwest of Cabo Corrientes earlier in the week, moving northwest before forecasters expect it to curve west and then west-northwest, carrying it away from mainland Mexico and south of the Baja California peninsula.

Coastal Warnings Come Down

Mexican authorities have since discontinued all coastal watches and warnings tied to the storm. Still, the hurricane center cautioned that parts of Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima and Jalisco states could see isolated rainfall totals up to 12 inches, along with dangerous surf, even with the storm's center staying offshore. Jalisco closed schools in 30 municipalities earlier this week as a precaution while the storm's outer bands moved through.

ISOLATED RAINFALL TOTALS COULD REACH 12 INCHES EVEN WITH RACHEL STAYING OFFSHORE.

Rachel is the latest in a string of East Pacific storms to threaten Mexico's coast this season, following Hurricane Polo, which made a more direct hit on Baja California with life-threatening winds and flooding late last month. Moisture pulled north from the Pacific system has also been drenching parts of the central United States, forecasters said, even as the hurricane itself stays well offshore.

What's Next

The hurricane center's latest guidance has Rachel continuing to weaken as it moves over cooler open water, reducing the likelihood of a second landfall threat. Emergency officials in the affected Mexican states say they're keeping flood-response crews on standby through the rest of the week as outer rain bands continue to move across the coast, even with the storm itself now a lesser threat than it looked a few days ago.