Tropical Storm Paula was expected to strengthen into a hurricane on Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Weather forecasts showed it could hit Mexico's popular Caribbean resort of Cancun. Authorities in Honduras closed schools and warned of flooding in some villages as heavy rains reached the coast.
"Paula continues to strengthen and is expected to become a hurricane soon," the center said.
The storm in the southwest Caribbean was carrying top winds of 70 miles per hour and moving northwestward at a speed of 10 miles per hour.
It was located about 90 miles east of Isla Guanaja in Honduras.
The six-month Atlantic hurricane season, which ends on November 30, has produced five major hurricanes this year out of the eight that have formed. The United States has so far escaped a significant landfall.