Tropical Storm Helene forms in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Helene formed from the remnants of Tropical Depression Seven in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Friday.

Located about 90 miles east-southeast of Tuxpan, Mexico, Helene was packing maximum sustained winds of 45 miles per hour (75 km/h), the NHC said.

The center of Helene will make landfall on Saturday, the NHC said.

A tropical storm warning was issued for a stretch of Mexico's Gulf coast from Barra de Nautla to La Cruz.

There were no reports of the tropical storm affecting the Gulf of Mexico's oil installations, which are built to resist much more powerful hurricanes.

Last week, Hurricane Ernesto hit Mexico, unleashing rains and winds that caused six deaths.

(Reporting by NR Sethuraman and Ioan Grillo; Editing by Gary Hill and Jim Marshall)