Hurricane Emily gathered strength Tuesday afternoon as it roared through the Gulf of Mexico, becoming a Category 2 storm on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale as it picked up moisture over the Gulf's warm waters, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. Packing maximum sustained winds of 160 kilometres per hour, the eye of the storm is currently 300 kilometres east of Mexico's northeastern coast, where Emily is expected to make landfall by Wednesday morning. The National Hurricane Center said it expects Emily to continue strengthening before it reaches Mexico, possibly becoming a "major" Category 3 three hurricane. The southern United States could avoid the brunt of this storm if Emily stays on its expected track, the center said. But authorities have issued a hurricane warning for the lower Texas coast, as any deviation in Emily's expected path could bring the storm to the southern state.
