Storm Chantal nears hurricane force as it nears Mexico

A huge Caribbean storm is already nearing Hurricane force as it heads towards Mexico.

Storm Chantal, the Caribbean's first tropical storm of the year, is growing in strength as it heads for land.

It has already soaked the region's islands and generated lighting bolts that killed two men in Trinidad.

"The thunderstorms around the storm's center have intensified, and Chantal at this point is moving across the warmest waters in the Caribbean, so she is bound to intensify even more," said Eric Blake, a meteorologist at the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami.

Chantal is expected to build to hurricane strength and by Monday come within 115 miles of Honduras.

By late Tuesday, the storm is expected to near Mexico's Yucatan, Mr Blake says.

A hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning are in effect for the Cayman Islands.

A tropical storm watch is also in effect for Belize and Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.

The centre of the storm is 280 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, moving west at 12 mph.

The storm's winds are a sustained 70 mph and extended outward for 145 miles.