Tropical Storm Races Towards Mexico's Yucatan Agence France-Presse
go to original August 5, 2012

Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook - This product is updated at approximately 5 AM, 11 AM, 5 PM, and 11 PM PDT from June 1 to November 30. (NOAA/National Hurricane Center)

Tropical Storm Ernesto is spinning westward in the Caribbean Sea, barreling toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

At 1500 GMT, the eye of the storm was located about 340 kilometres south of Kingston, with Ernesto expected to dump up to 15 centimeters on Jamaica as it moves south of the island later in the day, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre.

The storm had top winds of 50 miles (80 kilometres) per hour, and was moving westward at 23 miles per hour.

Squalls were ripping through the southern coast of Hispaniola, the island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

"Showers and thunderstorms, occasionally heavy, are possible over the Dominican Republic and Haiti today," the NHC said.

Ernesto was expected to move north of the northeastern coast of Honduras late today before making landfall in the Yucatan.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for Jamaica, while Grand Cayman island and parts of the Honduran coast were under a tropical storm watch, meaning tropical storm conditions are possible in the coastal area within the next 48 hours.

The current forecast model has Ernesto brushing the northern coast of Honduras and parts of Nicaragua, then making landfall in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, home to the busy beach resort city of Cancun, on Wednesday.

Further east, Tropical Storm Florence had top winds of 60 miles (96 kilometres) per hour as it headed westward at 14 miles per hour. The sixth named storm of the Atlantic season was located 770 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands and was not expected to strengthen further.

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