Tropical Storm Paula forms off Honduras
MIAMI (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Paula, the 16th named storm of the busy 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, formed on Monday off the coast of Honduras, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Paula was expected to strengthen into a hurricane on Tuesday as it moves toward the coast of Mexico'sYucatan peninsula
The storm in the southwest Caribbean was carrying top winds of 65 miles per hour and moving northwestward at a speed of 9 miles per hour.
It was located about 105 miles east of Isla Guanaja in Honduras.
Mexico's government issued a hurricane warning from Punta Gruesa to Cancun, a major tourist attraction. Atropical storm warning was also in effect for the coast of Honduras along the border with Nicaragua.
Paula is expected to bring heavy rains in eastern Honduras, parts of the Yucatan peninsula, and possibly in mountainous areas of Nicaragua and Honduras, threatening flash flooding and mudslides, the center said.
The six-month Atlantic hurricane season, which ends on November 30, has produced five major hurricanes this year out of the eight that have formed. The United States has so far escaped a significant landfall.
(Reporting by Pascal Fletcher and Kevin Gray; editing by Chris Wilson)
