Hurricane warning issued for Texas, Mexico as tropical storm Alex nears

June 29th, 2010 - 10:54 pm ICT by BNO News  

storm1 MIAMI (BNO NEWS) — With tropical storm Alex slowly approaching northern Mexico and Texas, authorities have issued a hurricane warning from south of Baffin Bay in Texas to La Cruz, in Mexico.

The storm regained tropical storm strength on late Sunday as it moved into the Gulf of Mexico. It earlier weakened back to a tropical depression as it moved over the Yucatan Peninsula and Guatemala.

On Tuesday morning, around 10.00 a.m. CDT (1500 GMT), the storm was slowly strengthening as it moved through the Gulf of Mexico.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the center of Alex was located approximately 495 kilometers (307 miles) east-southeast of La Pesca, a city in Mexico’s Tamaulipas state.

Alex is moving toward the north-northwest near 12 mph, 19 km/hr. “A gradual turn toward the west-northwest is expected on Wednesday. The center of Alex will approach the coast of northeastern Mexico and southern Texas on Wednesday and make landfall Wednesday night,” said forecaster Beven.

Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 110 kilometers (70 miles) per hour. “Strengthening is forecast during the next 36 hours or so before landfall, and Alex is likely to become a hurricane later today,” Beven added.

Tropical storm force winds currently extend up to 220 kilometers (140 miles) from the center and Alex is expected to produce rainfall accumulations of three to six inches over the Yucatan peninsula, southern Mexico, and the northern portions of Guatemala through Tuesday.

Although the National Hurricane Center earlier said the storm may become a category 3 hurricane before it makes landfall, that is now extremely unlikely. The latest models show that Alex will not surpass category one.

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