Late this evening tropical storm Earl is expected to strengthen and possibly become the first hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean as the system nears the coast of Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula by early Thursday.
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As of 2 a.m., National Hurricane Center forecasters said the system was 150 miles south-southwest of Kinston, Jamaica and moving west at about 20 mph.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Punta Allen, Mexico, southward to the Belize/Guatemala border; and Cabo Gracias a Dios westward to the Honduras/Guatemala border, including the Bay Islands.
Hurricane warnings were issued Tuesday night for an area covering Belize City and Puerto Costa Maya in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula south to the Guatemala border.
A hurricane center said it could generate peak winds of 65 miles per hour early Thursday.
Tropical storm-force winds of 40 to 45 miles per hour have been reported in the area, but confirmation of a defined center of circulation is still needed. Some additional strengthening is forecast before Earl reaches the Yucatan peninsula.
The storm is expected to make landfall at or near category one hurricane strength on the coast of Belize.
He indicated that the Met Service has consulted with the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) in Miami, “and they are persistent in the view that we need to be moving in this general (tropical storm warning classification) direction”.
Outbreaks of heavy showers, thunderstorms and gusty winds, are therefore, expected to continue and even to intensify tonight and through Tuesday.
“These rains could result in life-threatening flash floods and mud slides”, the NHC said.
Earl poses NO threat to Southwest Louisiana because of upper level high pressure over Texas as well as the Bermuda high extending west across the Gulf of Mexico. However as the system continues to deepen, it will begin to slow down affording it the time needed to possibly obtain hurricane status.
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The storm will hit the northern coast of Belize and Mexican state of Quintana Roo with rain, winds, coastal flooding, and beach erosion.
