Otto a hurricane anew, aiming at Central America

Forecasters say Otto has regained hurricane strength in the Caribbean as it churns closer to Central America.

Otto had fluctuated between tropical storm and hurricane status earlier this week. But the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says Otto now has hurricane-force winds of 75 mph (110 kph) as it continues toward an expected landfall later this week.

As of 7 p.m. EST Wednesday, Otto was centered about 140 miles (230 kilometers) northeast of Limon, Costa Rica - or about 180 miles (285 kilometers) east-southeast of Bluefields, Nicaragua.

A hurricane warning is in effect from Limon, Costa Rica, to Bluefields, Nicaragua. Forecasters say the center of Otto is expected to make landfall in that warning area sometime Thursday and reach the Pacific coast of southern Nicaragua or northern Costa Rica sometime early Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.