GEO 436 CANCUN: Tropical Storm Alex gained speed as it approached Mexico’’s Yucatan Peninsula, where it was expected to make landfall Saturday night before heading into the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Alex was not an imminent threat to oil-siphoning efforts at BP Plc’’s blown-out Macondo well in the Gulf, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Current forecasts project Alex will emerge in the southern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday and make landfall again as a minimal hurricane later in the week between Brownsville, Texas, and Tuxpan de Rodriguez Cano, Mexico, sparing BP spill collection efforts. Alex, the first named storm of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, carried sustained winds of 65 miles per hour (100 km per hour) and was located about 30 miles east-southeast of Belize City, Belize. “Alex will move inland over Belize and the Yucatan peninsula in the next few hours,” the Miami-based center said at 5 p.m. EDT/2100 GMT. Quintana Roo state authorities evacuated 200 people from fishing villages across the Chinchorro reef, near Belize, and Xcalak, famous for its diving spots, where Alex was expected to touch land. Some rain was expected over Cancun, a major draw for U.S. and European visitors, but there was no threat to some 35,000 tourists in the area, civil protection said. At least three cruise ships en route to the island of Cozumel, across from Playa del Carmen, another popular resort south of Cancun, changed course to avoid strong waves in the area. Alex was moving toward the west at 12 mph Saturday afternoon but its speed should decrease while it moves over the peninsula. However, “some strengthening is forecast as Alex moves over the Gulf of Mexico by Monday,” forecasters said. The hurricane center said a tropical storm warning was in effect for the coast of Belize and the east coast of Mexico’’s Yucatan Peninsula from Chetumal to Cancun and the islands of Roatan, Guanaja and Utila in Honduras. Alex was expected to bring 4 to 8 inches of rain through Sunday evening. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30 and meteorologists predict this year will be a very active one. Hurricanes feed on warm water and the sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic are higher than usual this year. In the Pacific, Darby moved farther from Mexican coast and was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane, 310 miles south-southwest of the Mexican beach resort of Zihuatanejo. Farther out Category 1 hurricane Celia moved over cooler water and was expected to become a remnant on Monday.
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