Tropical storm Alex gaining strength

Hurricane watches were in effect Monday for a stretch of Gulf coast in southern Texas and northern Mexico. Tropical Storm Alex gained strength and is expected to become a Categpry 3 hurricane Tuesday, the June 29th, and could build winds as high as 120 mph (193 kilometers) by Wednesday.

Its heavy rains were expected to begin lashing the Mexican states of Tamaulipas or Veracruz around midweek. Alex's heavy rains caused flooding and mudslides that left at least four people dead in Central America over the weekend, though Belize and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula appeared largely unscathed.

Tropical storm-force winds extended up to 70 miles (110 kilometers) from the storm's center Monday, and Alex was moving north-northwest near 7 mph (11 kph).

The hurricane watches extended about 225 miles (360 kilometers) south of the U.S. border over an area of sparsely populated Mexican coast, and about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north along the Texas coast from the Rio Grande to just south of Baffin Bay.