( CNN ) -- Hurricane Richard made landfall just south of Belize City Sunday night , said CNN Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras . She said the eye of the hurricane hit land around 7:45 p.m. CT ( 8:45 p.m . ET ) , some 20 miles ( 35 kilometers ) south-southwest of Belize City . The storm known as Richard intensified in the Caribbean from a tropical storm into a Category 1 hurricane as maximum sustained winds increased to 90 miles per hour , the National Hurricane Center reported . The storm is expected to weaken as it moves inland . Monday , it is seen moving across northern Guatemala and into southern Mexico . The Belize National Emergency Management Organization said Sunday all public buses have stopped running and advised private cars to also get off the road . It urged people living in Dangriga , a town in southern Belize , and in vulnerable parts of Belize City to seek shelter immediately . All vessels should remain in port , the organization also advised . Belize , a small country in Central America popular among tourists for its pristine beaches and coral reefs , has a hurricane warning in effect , the National Hurricane Center reported . A hurricane watch is in effect for areas along the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula . Along with hurricane force winds , the main threat from the slow-moving Richard is the large amounts of rain it will dump on Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula . It is expected to produce three to six inches of rain with local amounts totaling 10 inches . These rains could produce life-threatening flash floods and mud slides , especially in the mountainous terrain . Hurricane Richard is expected to weaken over land and reemerge in the Bay of Campeche as a tropical depression . Conditions are not favorable for redevelopment in the extreme southwestern Gulf of Mexico . The National Hurricane Center expects Richard to continue to dissipate into a remnant low . `` It is not a concern for the U.S. , '' said John Cangialosi with the hurricane center . `` Even if it does get into the southern Gulf of Mexico , a very strong wind sheer of that area will continue to weaken the system . '' A wind sheer is caused when winds go in different directions , causing the storm to weaken . CNN Meteorologist Monica O'Conner and CNN Radio 's Ninette Sosa contributed to this report .
NEW : Hurricane Richard makes landfall with sustained winds of around 90 mph . NEW : It came in along the coast just south of Belize City . Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula can expect heavy rain and storm surges . The storm is n't likely to threaten the United States .