MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Lisa is expected to strengthen into a hurricane overnight as it swirls directly toward Belize and Guatemala, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Tuesday in its latest report.
Lisa is expected to be a Category 1 hurricane shortly before making landfall on Wednesday, though it will likely weaken rapidly once touching down, according to the Miami-based NHC.
Lisa was logging maximum sustained winds around 60 mph (95 km/h) with higher gusts, and moving westward around 14 mph (22 km/hr), the NHC said at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC).
The storm will pass south of the Cayman Islands later Tuesday and come close to Honduras’ Bay Islands early Wednesday, finally approaching Belize as it continues to intensify in strength with warm Caribbean waters providing “ample fuel.”
Lisa is expected to pass through Guatemala on Thursday and cross into Mexico’s southern states overnight and into Friday morning, a storm path map shared by the NHC shows.
A tropical storm warning is already in effect for part of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, including tourist town Chetumal, along with the northern coasts of Honduras and Guatemala.
(Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Mark Porter)
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