Belize, Honduras on guard for Nana, a potential hurricane

Tropical Storm Nana is barrelling westward just off the coast of Honduras on a collision course with the tiny nation of Belize.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center reported Wednesday that Nana was located about 385 kilometres east of Belize City with sustained winds of 95 km/h. The storm was moving at 28 km/h and was expected to strengthen throughout the day and make landfall in Belize as a hurricane late Wednesday or early Thursday.

Belize had issued a hurricane warning for its coastline. Nana was 230 km east-northeast of the Honduran island of Roatan, a popular tourist destination.

Forecasters also warned that people in Guatemala and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula should closely monitor the storm's progress. 

Strong winds, a dangerous storm surge and very heavy rainfall causing flash flooding are likely, the centre said.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Omar formed off the U.S. East Coast on Tuesday and was moving away from land.

The hurricane centre expects Omar to be short-lived. Early Wednesday, it had maximum sustained winds of 65 km/h and was expected to weaken on Thursday. Omar was 560 kilometres northwest of Bermuda, and moving east-northeast at 22 km/h.

Nana and Omar are the earliest 14th and 15th named storms on record, arriving earlier than 2005's Nate on Sept. 6 and Ophelia on Sept. 7, according to Colorado State University professor Phil Klotzbach.