Information Note #3: Hurricane Ernesto expected to make landfall north of Belize on the Yucatan Peninsula late tonight or early tomorrow morning – As of 5:00 p.m. Tuesday August 7, 2012
According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, as of 4:00 p.m. today (Tuesday, 7/8/12) the centre of Hurricane Ernesto was located near latitude 18.8 North and longitude 86.2 West or about 140 miles east of Chetumal, Mexico. Ernesto is moving towards the west-north-west near 15 mph and this motion is expected to continue over the next two days. On the forecast track Ernesto will be moving north of Belize across the Yucatan Peninsula during the next 24 hours. Maximum sustained winds are near 80 mph with higher gusts. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 35 miles and Tropical Storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles from the center. The minimum central pressure reported by an Air Force Hurricane Hunter Aircraft was 983 MB. Ernesto is now a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. Some additional strengthening is possible before Ernesto reaches the Yucatan Peninsula.