Deadly weather system strengthens, now Tropical Storm Earl

Government officials lifted the local tropical storm watch at 4pm Tuesday as TS Earl passed around 200 miles south of the islands heading towards Honduras at around 16mph.

“Earl is expected to be near hurricane strength by the time the center approaches the Yucatan Peninsula”, according to Lixion Avila, a senior hurricane specialist at the Miami-based center.

Tropical Storm Earl continues to strengthen in western Caribbean Sea this morning with maximum sustained winds up to 70 miles per hour, nearing hurricane status.

“The core of Earl is expected to pass just north of the Honduras Bay Islands Wednesday afternoon, and then be very near the Belize coast early Thursday”, the hurricane center said.

Early Wednesday, the storm was centered about 315 miles (505 kilometers) east-southeast of Belize City, Belize.

A NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft is now investigating Earl.

The center warns that when the storm reaches Mexico and Belize it could cause life-threatening floods and mudslides. All of coastal Belize is included in the hurricane warning.

We now have our fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season as Tropical Storm Earl has been formally crowned around noon Tuesday.

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A hurricane warning is in effect for Puerta Costa Maya, Mexico and south to the Belize and Guatemala border.

“Once over land, Earl will weaken, but locally torrential rainfall and gusty winds will continue in the region during Thursday”, AccuWeather Hurricane Expect Dan Kottlowski said.

Of perhaps more concern is the threat for higher surf and rip currents by the weekend up the Texas coast, possibly as far north as Galveston. In the central and western Caribbean Sea, the temperatures are closer to 84 degrees, especially right next to the coast of Belize.

The storm has already been blamed for deaths in the Dominican Republic.