MIAMI, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Forecasters Sunday called Hurricane Felix “potentially catastrophic,” as the Category 5 storm moved westward in the Central Caribbean.
At 11 p.m. EDT, Felix was about 345 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 625 miles east of Cabo Gracias a Dios on the Nicaragua/Honduras border. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm was moving toward the west at almost 21 mph, and a west to west-northwest motion was expected over the next 24 hours.
Maximum sustained winds at 11 p.m. were near 165 mph, with higher gusts. Hurricane force winds extended outward up to 25 miles from the storm’s center and tropical storm force winds extended outward up to 115 miles.
The government of Honduras has issued a hurricane watch from Limon to the Honduras/Nicaragua border. Hurricane conditions were also possible over northeastern Nicaragua, the National Hurricane Center said.
A tropical storm watch remained in effect for Jamaica and Grand Cayman.
Felix' status was upgraded three times Sunday as the storm gained strength and intensity.
If the hurricane continues its current path, forecasters expect it to travel across Belize, Honduras and the Yucatan Peninsula, before it enters the Gulf of Mexico later in the week.
The Disaster News Network said that path would be eerily similar to that of Hurricane Dean, which killed 25 people and was designated a Category 5 storm at its peak.
Felix is the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season's sixth named storm.
