Tropical storm court trigger Nicaragua mudslides

MEXICO CITY, Nov 4 (Reuters) - A tropical depression off Nicaragua's Caribbean coast will likely grow into a tropical storm later on Wednesday that could trigger deadly floods and mudslides, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The storm is likely to make landfall on the Nicaraguan coast on Wednesday evening and could dump up to 25 inches (64 centimeters) of rain over the eastern part of the Central American nation and neighboring Honduras, the National Hurricane Center said.

"These rains could produce life-threatening flash floods and mudslides," a National Hurricane Center bulletin said.

Tropical storm warnings were in effect for all of eastern Nicaragua and for some nearby islands that belong to Colombia.

The storm had maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour (55 km per hour) and was moving northwest at approximately 7 miles per hour (11 km per hour), the National Hurricane Center said.

The National Hurricane Center's longer-term forecast called for the storm to pass over Central America and regain tropical storm strength by Monday off Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, which could take it into the oil- and gas-rich Gulf of Mexico.

However, the National Hurricane Center said the proximity of the storm to land made longer-term forecasts more difficult than usual.

(Reporting by Robert Campbell; Editing by Will Dunham)