MEXICO CITY (AP) — Tropical Storm Cristobal formed in the southern Gulf of Mexico onf Tuesday, threatening to bring deadly flooding in parts of southern Mexico and Central America.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm was centered about 135 miles (215 kilometers) northeast of the oil city of Coatzacoalcos and was heading to the southwest at 3 mph (6 kph). It had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph).

Forecasters said it is likely to wander around the southern Gulf of Mexico during the week before veering northward across the Gulf, though it's too early to say when and where it might strike the United States.

A tropical storm warning was in effect across the southern arc of the Gulf from Campeche to the port of Veracruz, though the biggest effect was likely to be rainfall accumulations of 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters), and even more in isolated areas.

The storm formed from the remnants of the Eastern Pacific's Tropical Storm Amanda, which killed at least 17 people as it moved across El Salvador and Guatemala over the weekend.