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By

The Associated Press

November 07, 2009, 12:02PM

MIAMI — Tropical storm warnings
were issued Saturday for parts of Mexico and Cuba as Ida rapidly gained
strength over Caribbean waters, and the storm could start affecting the
U.S. Gulf Coast by Tuesday.

A hurricane watch was also issued for part of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

The
warnings were issued for parts of the Yucatan Peninsula and western
Cuba. A tropical storm warning was also in effect for Grand Cayman
Island.

A tentative forecast track from the U.S. National
Hurricane Center in Miami shows the storm could hit the U.S. Gulf Coast
in the coming days, but forecasters said it was too early to get an
accurate picture of what Ida might do.

John Cangialosi, a
hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center, said forecasters
should know more in the coming days. Cangialosi said as the system
moves north across the gulf, it is expected to intersect with a cold
front that is moving south, which is complicating projections.

“There’s
going to be some sort of interaction between the two, but where they
interact, and how, and the timing of the thing, that’s kind of the big
question mark,” Cangialosi said.

Regardless of how the cold front
affects the tropical system, Cangialosi said residents on the north
Gulf Coast can expect lots of wind and heavy rain.

Ida was
packing winds of 70 mph (110 kph) Saturday afternoon and forecasters
said it could become a hurricane later in the day. The storm was moving
toward the north at about 9 mph (15 kph). It was centered about 230
miles (370 kilometers) southeast of Cozumel, Mexico.

View full size(AP Photo/Weather Underground)This NOAA satellite image taken Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009 at 3:45 a.m. EST shows clear skies over much of the East as a high pressure system continues to dominate the area, bringing dry conditions. A mass of clouds east of the Yucatan Peninsula is associated with Tropical Depression Ida.