DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Tropical Storm Ida has strengthened as it nears Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, where a tropical storm warning and hurricane watch remains in effect, the National Hurricane Center said Saturday in its 1 p.m. EST advisory.
The center of Ida was located about 230 miles southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, and about 230 miles south of the western tip of Cuba. The NHC said its latest data indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 70 miles per hour. Ida could become a hurricane later Saturday, but the storm is expected to weaken after it enters the Gulf of Mexico.
Ida is moving toward the north at 9 mph. A turn toward the north-northwest with a gradual increase in forward speed is expected over the next couple of days, the NHC said. Ida is expected to move over or just east of the northeastern portion of the Yucatan peninsula on Sunday and into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday night.
The tropical storm warning for Yucatan extends from Punta Allen northward to San Felipe. A hurricane watch for the peninsula extends from Tulum to Cabo Catoche.
Tropical storm warnings are also in effect for Grand Cayman Island, the Cuban province of Pinar del Rio and the Isle of Youth.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 07, 2009 14:12 ET (19:12 GMT)