Powerful Hurricane Felix heads for Central America

(CNN) -- A potentially catastrophic Hurricane Felix barreled toward Central America Monday packing winds up to 165 mph (266 kph), the National Hurricane Center said.

The Category 5 storm is expected to hit the coasts of northeastern Nicaragua and northeastern Honduras early Tuesday morning, according to the hurricane center.

As Felix intensified and closed in on the Central American coastline, the Honduran government issued a hurricane warning from Limon to its border with Nicaragua, the center said.

A hurricane watch was issued west of Limon to the Honduras-Guatemala border, which means that hurricane conditions -- including sustained winds of 74 mph (119 kph) or higher -- are possible within the next 36 hours.

A tropical storm watch remained in effect for Jamaica and for Grand Cayman Island.

"As it stands, we're still thinking that it will be a potentially catastrophic system in the early portions of this week, Tuesday evening, possibly affecting Honduras and then toward the coast of Belize," Dave Roberts, a hurricane specialist at the center in Miami, Florida, told The Associated Press.