MIAMI, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Hurricane Felix throttled back to Category 4 status Monday as it churned across the Caribbean Sea toward Nicaragua and Honduras.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center's warning stretched from Puerto Cabezas in Nicaragua to Limon in Honduras. The forecast center said hurricane conditions were expected within 24 hours and warned "preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion."
A hurricane watch was in effect for Honduras west of Limon, the Caribbean coast of Guatemala and the entire coast of Belize. A tropical storm warning was in effect for Isla de Providencia and a watch for Grand Cayman.
Felix, which earlier had reached the Category 5 level, was heading west at about 20 mph, packing winds near 135 mph and holding the potential to get stronger. The storm's eye was focused on extreme northeastern Nicaragua and eastern Honduras, with life-threatening wave surges 18 feet or higher, heavy rains, flash flooding and mudslides expected at landfall early Tuesday, the forecast center said.
