Hurricane Lisa heads toward Belize coast in Central America
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Tropical Storm Lisa strengthened into a Category one hurricane Wednesday morning in the western Caribbean as it headed for an expected landfall in Belize later in the day.
The US National Hurricane Center said Lisa had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph). The storm’s center was about 55 miles (90 kilometers) east-southeast of Belize City and moving west at 14 mph (22 kph).
Lisa was forecast to cross Belize into northern Guatemala and then move into southeastern Mexico by Thursday.
The hurricane center warned of the danger of flooding and mudslides from heavy rains. It said the storm could drop 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of rain on Belize, the Bay Islands, northern Guatemala, the eastern portion of Mexico’s Chiapas state and the Mexican state of Tabasco.
A hurricane warning was posted for Roatan island and the other Bay Islands of Honduras as well as the coast of Belize north and the southern coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula from Chetumal to Puerto Costa Maya.
Far out in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Martin rose to hurricane strength Wednesday while posing no immediate threat to land.
Martin had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (110 kph). It was centered about 790 miles (1,270 kilometers) south-southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland, and moving to the east-northeast at 26 mph (43 kph).
