Tropical Storm Julia continued to strengthen on Saturday and could become the Atlantic’s fifth hurricane of 2022 later today.

The National Hurricane Center said Julia had 60 mph winds as of Saturday morning. Hurricane-force winds begin at 74 mph.

Julia was in the southern Caribbean on a path westward. It will move by several Colombian islands tonight and then close in on Nicaragua. Landfall is expected along the Nicaragua coast on Sunday morning.

Julia could be a Category 1 hurricane by that point with winds as high as 90 mph, according to forecasters.

The hurricane center said life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides will be possible in Central America over the weekend.

Hurricane warnings continued for areas in Julia’s path. The hurricane center said that on the forecast track, the center of Julia is expected to pass near or over San Andres and Providencia Islands this evening and then reach Nicaragua on Sunday morning. Julia or its remnants will then turn west-northwestward near the Pacific coast of Central America by Monday.

Julia will likely not affect the U.S. at all.

As of 7 a.m. CDT Saturday, Tropical Storm Julia was located about 165 miles east-southeast of Isla de Providencia, Colombia, and was moving west at 21 mph.

Julia could bring deadly flooding to parts of Central America this weekend. The hurricane center said the storm could drop 6 to 12 inches of rain on the islands of San Andres and Providencia and 5 to 10 inches in Nicaragua with isolated amounts of 15 inches. Other areas in Central America could get 4 to 8 inches with isolated amounts up to 12 inches as Julia moves inland.

Julia could also bring 2 to 4 feet of storm surge to the islands and the coast of Nicaragua through Sunday, forecasters said.

Here are the watches and warnings as of Saturday:

* A hurricane warning is in effect for Colombia’s San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina Islands and in Nicaragua from Bluefields to Puerto Cabezas.

* A hurricane watch is in effect for Nicaragua from north of Puerto Cabezas to the Honduras/Nicaragua border.

* A tropical storm warning is in effect for Nicaragua from south of Bluefields to the Nicaragua/Costa Rica border and from north of Puerto Cabezas to the Honduras/Nicaragua border.

* A tropical storm watch is in effect for Honduras from the Nicaragua/Honduras border to Punta Patuca.

The hurricane center said watches could be issued for areas along the Pacific coasts of Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador later today.