MIAMI – Tropical Storm Ida has continued to strengthen after leaving Honduras and moving out over waters of the Mexican Caribbean, and the system now packs maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometers (68 miles) per hour, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in its latest bulletin Saturday.

The NHC said that Ida, which destroyed houses and damaged bridges and schools when it struck the eastern coast of Nicaragua as a hurricane but quickly lost strength as it moved north over land, could regain hurricane strength at any moment as it heads on a path toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

According to the bulletin, Ida is expected to “move over or just east of the northeastern portion of the Yucatan Peninsula” on Sunday, but then lose strength as it enters the southeastern Gulf of Mexico later that night.

A hurricane watch is currently in effect for the Yucatan Peninsula – home to Mexico’s most popular resort areas – from Tulum to Cabo Catoche and a hurricane warning is in effect from Punta Allen to San Felipe.

At 1800 GMT, the center of Tropical Storm Ida was located about 370 kilometers (230 miles) southeast of the Mexican island of Cozumel and about 370 kilometers south of the western tip of Cuba.

The storm is moving at 15 kilometers (nine miles) per hour, the NHC said, adding that “a turn toward the north-northwest with a gradual increase in forward speed is expected over the next couple of days.”

Ida is the ninth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.