9 November 2009 / REUTERS, MEXICO CITY
Hurricane Ida strengthened off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula as it makes its way to the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, the US National Hurricane Center said on Sunday.
Ida, which reached hurricane status again late on Saturday, had top sustained winds of 90 mph (145 kph), the hurricane center said in its 4 a.m. EST (0900 GMT) advisory. Tropical storm force winds could reach parts of the US Gulf Coast in a couple of days, the Miami-based center said. Ida was a Category 1 storm, the lowest on the five-step Saffir-Simpson intensity scale, and forecasters said it could strengthen to Category 2 later on Sunday. Gradual weakening was expected to begin late today. Ida was forecast to move through the Yucatan Channel and into the Gulf of Mexico later on Sunday, passing close to the northeastern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, the Miami-based hurricane center said. Ida first became a hurricane on Thursday off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua before weakening over that country. It revived on Saturday.
