Weakened 'Bud' Pounds Mexico with Wind, Rain

A navy vehicle drives along a street in the coastal town of Barra de Navidad as the community prepares for the arrival of Hurricane Bud along the Pacific coast of Mexico, May 25, 2012.

What had once been Hurricane Bud, the first Pacific Hurricane of the season, has weakened to a tropical depression but not before it pounded the southwestern coast of Mexico with wind and rain.

Officials in Mexico's Jalisco state reported heavy downpours of rain with as much as 15 to 25 centimeters expected in some areas.

The state had been placed on high alert, with schools closed in 11 communities that had been in the path of the storm. Heavy waves pounded beaches and some streets were flooded

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says the storm was the first Pacific Hurricane of the season.

At one time Bud was carrying maximum sustained winds of at least 175 kilometers an hour, but is now is blowing at about 55 kilometers per hour.

Forecasters are predicting a near-normal hurricane season for the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific coasts.

The Atlantic hurricane season officially starts June 1 and lasts until November 30. The Pacific season began on May 15 and ends November 30.

The National Hurricane Center says a new tropical storm named Beryl has formed in the Atlantic Ocean and threatens the southeastern coast of the United States. Beryl is located about 400 kilometers east of Charleston, South Carolina and has top winds of 75 kilometers per hour.