Grace a hurricane as it heads toward landfall in the Yucatan
MIAMI — Hurricane Grace, a wider and better-organized storm, headed toward Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula Wednesday, where it’s expected to make landfall.
Forecasters are also eyeing Tropical Storm Henri, which could strengthen into a hurricane by the weekend as it moves over the Atlantic. Neither storm is a threat to Florida.
Flooding rains and gusty winds were spreading across the Cayman Islands on Wednesday afternoon as Hurricane Grace moved west at 15 mph with maximum sustained winds near 75 mph with higher gusts.
The storm was about 295 miles east of Tulum, Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 2 p.m. EDT advisory. Its tropical-storm-force winds now extend up to 140 miles from its center and hurricane-force winds extend outward for 25 mph.
A reporting station near Rum Point Beach on the north shore of Grand Cayman recently measured a sustained wind of 40 mph and gusts up to 47 mph, according to the hurricane center.
On the forecast track, Grace will continue to move near or over the Cayman Islands Wednesday and approach the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico Wednesday night or early Thursday.
It’s expected to make landfall along the northeastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and should weaken back to a tropical storm by the time it emerges over the Bay of Campeche during the weekend. Forecasters
predict it will then restrengthen into a hurricane as it moves over the warm waters before its weekend landfall in central Mexico. The hurricane center says it will eventually dissipate over the mountains of central Mexico.
The tropical storm watch for Mexico was upgraded to a tropical storm warning for the north and west coasts of the Yucatan Peninsula from west of Dzilam to Campeche. The tropical storm warning for Jamaica was discontinued early, along with the tropical storm warning and watch for Cuba’s southern coast.
A stronger Tropical Storm Henri was moving west in the Atlantic waters between the U.S. southeast coast and Bermuda and could bring life-threatening surf and rip current conditions along the southeast and mid-Atlantic coast by the end of the week, according to the hurricane center.
As of the 11 a.m. Wednesday advisory, the storm was about 190 miles southwest of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds near 65 mph, with higher gusts, early Wednesday. Its tropical-storm-force winds extended up to 80 miles from its center.
Bermuda is no longer under a tropical storm watch, though tropical storm conditions may still be felt across the island Wednesday night, particularly to the south of the island.
On the forecast track, Henri is expected to make a gradual turn to the west-northwest by late Thursday, followed by another turn north and then northeast this weekend. Forecasters expect it will strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 75 mph as soon as Friday.