Storm Ida revives, churns towards Gulf of Mexico

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Ida strengthened back into a tropical storm early on Saturday off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and was moving north toward the Gulf of Mexico, where it could again become a hurricane.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Ida, which had weakened to a depression on Thursday, now carried maximum sustained winds of 60 mph/95 kph and was located about 255 miles/410 km southwest of Cozumel, Mexico.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for Grand Cayman Island and for the western Cuban province of Pinar del Rio, the Miami-based NHC said.

Mexico issued a hurricane watch for the Yucatan peninsula from the resort of Tulum to Cabo Catoche, north of Cancun.

Ida, which dumped heavy rain along Nicaragua's Caribbean coast earlier in the week, is expected to move into the Gulf of Mexico Sunday night, by which time it could be reaching hurricane strength, the NHC said.

The Mexican government urged people to avoid unnecessary travel in the Yucatan peninsula and imposed restrictions on coastal shipping.

U.S. energy companies said on Friday they were monitoring the storm's progress but had not yet begun evacuating any production platforms.

The Gulf of Mexico accounts for a quarter of U.S. domestic oil production and 15 percent of natural gas output. The Gulf Coast is also home to 40 percent of the nation's refining capacity.

(Reporting by Robert Campbell; Editing by Doina Chiacu)