Tropical Storm Earl expected to become hurricane by landfall
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Tropical Storm Earl is expected to strengthen into a hurricane before it makes landfall, probably in Belize, forecasters said Wednesday.
The US National Hurricane Center in Miami said that Earl was threatening to bring heavy rains, flooding and high winds to Mexico, Belize and Honduras, and was likely to blow past Honduras’ Roatan Island, a popular tourist destination, on Wednesday afternoon.
All three of those countries issued tropical storm warnings for some areas, and a hurricane warning was issued for part of Mexico.
On Sunday, Earl was a weaker tropical wave but knocked down power lines and started a fire that killed six passengers on a bus in the Dominican Republic.
Early Wednesday, the storm was centered about 120 miles (105 kilometers) east of Roatan, with maximum sustained winds near 65 mph (100 kph) and was moving west near 14 mph (22 kph).