(Updates with projected path, force)
MEXICO CITY, Sept 23 (Reuters) - A tropical depression formed over the western Caribbean on Thursday and is certain to become a tropical storm, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
The storm appeared to be heading toward Central America, the Miami-based center said. It was likely to hit Honduras and Guatemala and could eventually move into the Gulf of Mexico, where Mexico has the majority of its oil wells, forecasting models showed.
"A tropical depression has formed ... There is a high chance, 100 percent, of this system becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours," the center said in a statement.
Mexico is recovering from Hurricane Karl, which dumped heavy rains in the Gulf state of Veracruz over the past weekend, damaging sugar crops. (Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
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