Hurricane Earl thundered towards the shores of Belize on Wednesday, dumping heavy rains on Honduras and prompting hundreds of people to take cover on the Caribbean coastline as the large storm closed in. The outlying sweep of a tropical hurricane gliding across the Caribbean started lashing northern Central American countries yesterday amid warnings from authorities of the risk of impending floods and mud slides.
Advertisement
Earl is expected to make landfall in Belize overnight.
That intensification has continued and tropical storm Earl is on the verge of being classified as a category 1 hurricane as it nears Belize.
Up to 4 inches of rain is expected over Jamaica, while parts of Belize, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico could see a staggering 11.8 inches of rain, with isolated possible amounts up to 15.8 inches. The Jamaican government is instructing residents in low-lying areas to move to higher ground once the storm hits.
Tropical Storm warning is in effect for north coast of Honduras from Cabo Gracias a Dios westward to the Honduras/Guatemala border.
In extreme circumstances, over 16 inches are possible in spots over at Belize and Mexico. Earl is a small storm, as tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 80 miles (130 km) from the center.
Tropical Storm Earl continued moving west at 14 miles per hour with sustained 70 miles per hour winds at the 8 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
“Early Thursday morning it should make landfall somewhere in Belize or the far southern Yucatan as a strong tropical storm or hurricane”, said Paul Walker, a meteorologist at AccuWeather Inc.in State College, Pennsylvania.
On Sunday, when the storm was still a tropical wave, it knocked down power lines and caused a fire that killed six people on a bus returning from a trip to the beach, AP reported.
A hurricane warning is in effect for the entire coast of Belize, along with small portions of Mexico and Honduras. More than three-quarters of the crude produced by state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, comes from the Gulf, including more than 630,000 barrels a day from the southwest region that’s in Earl’s path.
Advertisement
Check back for continued updates on this storm system.
