Tropical Storm Ida threatens Yucutan

MIAMI, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Ida remained a tropical storm Saturday morning, but Mexican officials had the Yucatan Peninsula under a hurricane watch in case the storm strengthens.

The watch extended from Tulum and Cabo Catoche and meant that hurricane conditions were possible within 36 hours, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

The center said that as of 10 a.m. EST, Ida was churning northward at 9 mph between the western tip of Cuba and the Mexican coastal resort of Cozumel.

Winds had increased to a sustained 60 mph with stronger gusts.

Ida is expected to move across the northeastern Yucatan on Sunday and enter the Gulf of Mexico where it should lose some steam, forecasters said.