Forecasters: Tropical storm forms Alex in Caribbean; not on track for oiled Gulf

Tropical storm Alex not on track for Gulf

MIAMI — The first tropical storm of the Atlantic 2010 hurricane season has formed in the Western Caribbean, but it’s not on track to pass over the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Saturday that tropical storm Alex has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph).

Hurricane center forecaster Jack Bevins says prediction models no longer have it going across the oil spill. But Bevins noted that could change.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for the east coast of the coast of Belize and the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. The peninsula separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico. The warning is in effect in Mexico from Chetumal north to Cancun.

The storm is about 220 miles (355 km) east of Belize City.