At 0900 GMT, the eye of the storm, which packed sustained winds of 40 miles (65 kilometers) an hour, was located 220 miles (355 kilometers) east of Belize City, according to the Miami-based US National Hurricane Center.

A tropical storm warning was in effect on the east coast of Belize, Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and on the coastal islands in Honduras.

But after dropping rain on the Central American nations, the storm was expected to turn toward the Gulf of Mexico.

"A gradual turn toward the northeast and an increase in forward speed are expected in the next 48 hours," the center said in an advisory.

Alex was expected to approach the Yucatan Peninsula on Sunday morning.

Weather forecasters had earlier said the storm by next week could head for the site of the huge oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico unleashed by the April 20 explosion of the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig.

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