MIAMI (CNN) — A hurricane watch was issued Sunday for the U.S. Gulf Coast as Hurricane Ida moved through the Yucatan Channel heading into Gulf waters, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm has already wreaked havoc in El Salvador, where the government reported 42 people were killed in flooding and mudslides resulting from heavy rain. Ida also drenched Nicaragua after making landfall last week as a Category 1 hurricane, then weakening to a tropical storm. It regained hurricane strength overnight Saturday.

The U.S. watch — meaning hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours — extends from Grand Isle, Louisiana, eastward to the Mississippi-Alabama border, forecasters said. It does not include the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, the hurricane center said.

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