Tropical Storm Earl is gaining strength and is expected to be a hurricane when it makes landfall in Belize either tonight or early tomorrow.
Its maximum sustained winds have increased to near 70 miles per hour with higher gusts. At 8 a.m., Earl was 265 miles east southeast of Belize City and 120 miles east of Isla Roatan, Honduras, and is moving towards the west near 14 miles per hour with some decrease in forward speed during the next 48 hours.
“Additional strengthening is forecast during the next 24 hours, and Earl is likely to become a hurricane later today,” the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said this morning.
“On the forecast track, the core of Earl is expected to pass near the Honduras Bay Islands this afternoon, and then make landfall in Belize tonight or early Thursday…Weakening is expected after the center of Earl moves inland.”
A hurricane warning is in effect for Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico, southward to the Belize/Guatemala border and Bay Islands, Honduras.
A tropical storm warning is in effect for north coast of Honduras from Cabo Gracias a Dios westward to the Honduras/Guatemala border, and north of Puerto Costa Maya to Punta Allen, Mexico.
The NHC said tropical storm conditions are expected to first reach the coast of Honduras, and then Belize and Mexico within the hurricane and tropical storm warning area by tonight or early Thursday. Hurricane conditions are expected to begin in the Bay Islands of Honduras later today and in portions of the hurricane warning area in Belize and Mexico tonight or early tomorrow.
Earl is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 8 to 12 inches over portions of Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, and the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico through tomorrow night. Isolated maximum amounts of 16 inches are possible in Belize and Mexico. The NHC said the rains could result in life-threatening flash floods and mud slides.
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