Hurricane Emily passes over the Yucatan Peninsula in a satellite image taken at 8:15 a.m. ET Monday.
Hurricane Emily passes over the Yucatan Peninsula in a satellite image taken at 8:15 a.m. ET Monday. |
Hurricane Emily weakened early Monday after crashing onto the Gulf shores of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula with 135 mph winds. Forecasters predict it will cross into the Gulf of Mexico later in the day.. |
Emily came ashore early Monday north of Tulum, Mexico, on the Yucatan coast with 135 mph winds (217 kph). The northern eyewall -- the strongest part of the storm -- passed directly over the resort of Cozumel, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida
The center's latest long-range forecast shows that Emily will strengthen as it approaches the mainland near the Mexico-Texas border late Tuesday.
The potential landfall path stretches hundreds of miles from Texas' Matagorda Bay south to near Veracruz, Mexico. But such projections can change due to the unpredictability of hurricane movement.
At 8 a.m. ET, the storm was just northwest of Tizimin and about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east-northeast of Merida on the Yucatan.
Emily's maximum sustained winds had diminished to 100 mph (160 kph), with some higher gusts, making it a Category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane strength.
Category 2 hurricanes are capable of causing structural damage and storm surges up to 8 feet above normal. Emily had been a Category 4 storm when it slammed into the Yucatan Peninsula. A Category 5 storm is the most catastrophic, with winds greater than 155 mph (249 kph).
The hurricane center projected Emily would gain strength as it moved over the Gulf of Mexico later Monday.
No injuries or deaths have been reported in the Yucatan region, police said. The hurricane toppled many trees in the area, but little structural damage was reported.
Hermann Elger, manager of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Cancun, said Monday that the resort community had been well-prepared, receiving four or five days warning before Emily's arrival.
Cancun's airport closed, while Mexico's state oil company evacuated drill rigs offshore as the storm approached.
But tourism official Carolina Cardenas expressed concern for the safety of thousands of Mayan Yucatan residents.
"That's the west part of Yucatan, where we have 100,000 Mayan people living in not very strong houses. So we're worried about them," Cardenas said.
At 8 a.m., hurricane-force winds extended more than 60 miles (95 kilometers) from Emily's center, and areas could experience tropical storm-force winds 150 miles (240 kilometers) from the center, forecasters said. Emily was moving west-northwest at about 17 mph (27 kph).
Coastal storm surges and battering waves on the Caribbean side of the Yucatan were expected to diminish Monday.
Portions of the Yucatan are likely to be drenched with 5 to 8 inches of rain. Some parts of the region could see up to a foot of rainfall, forecasters said.
Hurricane warnings were posted from the beach towns of Cabo Catoche to Campeche, including the resorts of Cancun, Cozumel and Isla Mujeres.
A hurricane watch remained in effect from Cabo Rojo, Mexico, northward to Baffin Bay, Texas. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions -- including sustained winds in excess of 73 mph (117 kph) -- are expected within the next 24 hours, while a hurricane watch means hurricane conditions are expected within 36 hours.
To the south of the Yucatan, a tropical storm warning for the northern coast of Belize had been discontinued.
Emily swept south of Jamaica early Saturday, causing rain bands to spread over the region and dealing a second blow to the Caribbean island still cleaning up after last week's Hurricane Dennis.
Emily brought torrential rains and high winds, causing flooding and prompting evacuations in some areas.
Landslides also were reported on Jamaica's eastern end -- the area damaged earlier by Dennis -- and some communities there were cut off from the rest of the island.
Emily is the latest in what has so far been an active hurricane season in the
Atlantic, with five tropical systems developing in the first six weeks
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