HAVANA, Cuba (AP) — Hurricane Paula charged toward western Cuba and its lush tobacco fields Wednesday, threatening to inundate an area still recovering from three major hurricanes in 2008, even as officials took heart that it was weakening and becoming less defined.
At 2 p.m., the Category 2 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (160 kph), was centered about 55 miles (95 kilometers) west-southwest of Cuba's western tip, after swiping past Mexico's Yucatan Peninusla and the islands of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres overnight.
Mexican authorities said American Mickey Goodwin of Corpus Christi, Texas, drowned Tuesday in Cancun after he ignored warnings and red flags alerting to dangerous waters, the only fatality reported so far.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Paula was expected to shift to the northeast and weaken slightly on a course that would carry it into western Cuba by Wednesday night or early Thursday, bringing the threat of a storm surge and between 3 and 6 inches of rainfall. The storm was small in area, with hurricane force winds extending just 15 miles (30 kilometers) from its center.
Cuba's chief meteorologist, Jose Rubiera, said Paula was weakening and on a trajectory slightly north of previous projections.
No comments:
Post a Comment