CANCUN, Mexico (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Alex approached Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, where it was expected to make landfall later on Saturday before heading into the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. National Hurricane Centre said.
The U.S. Guard said Alex was not an imminent threat to oil siphoning efforts at BP Plc.'s blown-out Macondo well in the Gulf.
Current forecasts project Alex will emerge in the southern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday and make landfall again as a minimal hurricane later in the week between Brownsville, Texas, and Tuxpan de Rodriguez Cano, Mexico, sparing BP spill collection efforts.
Alex, the first named storm of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, carried sustained winds to 45 miles per hour (75 km per hour) and was located about 75 miles (120 km) east of Belize City, Belize.
"The Centre of Alex will reach the coast of Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula later today and move across the peninsula on Sunday," the Miami-based Centre said.
Quintana Roo state authorities evacuated 200 people from fishing villages across the Chinchorro reef, near Belize, and Xcalak, famous for its diving spots, where Alex was expected to touch land.
Some rain was expected over Cancun, a major draw for U.S. and European visitors, but there was no threat to some 35,000 tourists in the area, civil protection said.
At least three cruise ships en route to the island of Cozumel, across from Playa del Carmen, another popular resort south of Cancun, changed course to avoid strong waves in the area.
Alex was moving west-northwest at 9 mph (15 kph) at midday but its speed should decrease later on Saturday. The storm was likely to reach the bay of Campeche by Monday morning, forecasters said.
The hurricane Centre said a tropical storm warning was in effect for the coast of Belize and the east coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula from Chetumal to Cancun and the islands of Roatan, Guanaja and Utila in Honduras.
Alex was expected to bring 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm) of rain through Sunday evening.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30 and meteorologists predict this year will be a very active one. Hurricanes feed on warm water and the sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic are higher than usual this year.
In the Pacific, Hurricane Darby move farther from Mexican coast and was downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane, 310 miles (500 km) south-southwest of the Mexican beach resort of Zihuatanejo.
Farther out, Hurricane Celia weakened to a Category 1 status and posed no threat to land.
(Reporting by Jose Cortazar in Cancun and Cyntia Barrera Diaz in Mexico City; editing by Doina Chiacu)