NHC says earl weakening as it moves farther inland over Belize

(Reuters) - Hurricane Earl is forecast to weaken to a tropical storm later Thursday morning and to a tropical depression by Friday morning as it moves farther inland over Belize, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Thursday. The hurricane is expected to weaken as it crosses Central America and Mexico, and to be a tropical depression by the time the center reaches the Bay of Campeche, the Miami-based weather forecaster said. The hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour (120 km per hour), is located West-Southwest of Belize City, the hurricane center said. (Reporting by Swati Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Catherine Evans)