Tropical Storm Ida

Ida continues to track northwards to the US Gulf Coast

The eleventh storm of the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season formed in the southwest Caribbean Sea on Wednesday, near to the coast of Nicaragua.

On Thursday it briefly became a hurricane, bringing heavy rain as it made landfall across Eastern Nicaragua.

As of Saturday morning, the storm was centered about 135 miles (215km) northeast of Limon, Honduras and is moving northwards at 8mph (13kph).

Tropical Storm Ida, which is currently packing winds of 45 mph (75 kmh), is expected to graze the Yucatan Channel on Sunday, as it continues its journey northwards towards the US Gulf Coast.

The government of the Cayman Islands have issued a Tropical Storm warning for Grand Caymen Island.

Ida is not expected to strengthen as it moves across the open water of the Caribbean and should weaken over the next few days.