Tropical storm Rina is weakening as it heads toward Mexico, but residents in Cozumel and Cancun are nevertheless preparing for the wrath the weather system might bring.

Rina lost some of her steam overnight and was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm Thursday morning. But it's still expected to bring heavy rain, high surf and strong winds along the Mayan Riviera.

As of Thursday morning, the storm's maximum sustained winds are currently about 120 km/h. That's down from 175 km/h on Wednesday.

Many are hoping Rina will be further reduced to a tropical storm by the time it hits Cozumel this afternoon. The tourist destination is expecting winds of up to 110 kilometres an hour along with heavy rain. A more subdued Rina is then expected to make its way to Cancun later tonight.

A tropical storm warning remains in effect for all of the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Former Toronto resident Kelly McLaughlin, 40, said Canucks living in the popular tourist town were preparing for the storm by boarding their windows and stocking up on supplies, but otherwise it was "business as usual."

McLaughlin, an eight-year resident of Mexico, told The Canadian Press that Cancun's airport was crowded on Wednesday as some tourists cut vacations short.

She added that she spoke to several tourists who decided to stay, despite the expectation that the Cancun area would suffer flooding and heavy rain.

After crossing the eastern tip of Yucatan, Rina is expected to curve east toward Cuba and the Straits of Florida, though the U.S. National Hurricane Center cautioned "there is great uncertainty as to where Rina will be located by the weekend."

CTV's Tom Walters reports that many in Cancun are feeling relief that the storm has been downgraded. But he points out that even with the winds slowing, the danger isn't over; the heavy rains could cause plenty of damage on their own.

"There are low-lying areas here where any storm surge at all poses some concern," he told CTV's Canada AM from Cancun.

Walters reports that many in Cancun spent much of Wednesday, boarding up windows and preparing for the winds, rain, and flooding. The storm could dump 15 to 25 cm of rain over the Yucatan peninsula, and some streets were already flooding on Wednesday.

"Of course, here in Cancun, people don't have to think too far back to remember Hurricane Wilma," he said.

In 2005, Wilma largely washed Cancun's white-sand beaches, causing damage that insurance officials estimated totalled US$3 billion. Those beaches have been rebuilt twice since, but there are now worries the sands could be eroded again.

Walters reports that while most of the hotels in Cancun are large, concrete buildings that were designed to withstand storms, in the city of Cancun proper, stores and homes are much smaller and not as well-built.

Hundreds of residents have been evacuated from low-lying areas, and civil protection officials moved 2,300 people from Holbox, an island where the Caribbean meets the Gulf of Mexico.

Ahead of the storm's arrival, tourists were taking no chances and abandoning Cancun and other eastern Mexican resorts in droves. Cancun's airport was jammed with travellers Wednesday with lines snaking out from ticket counters.

"There's been about a 10,000-person drop in the number of tourists staying in Cancun right now," Walters reports.

"At this point, though, we're not hearing any suggestion that any hotels are planning evacuations."