Debby in Gulf, Expected to Become a Hurricane

A tropical storm warning was issued Sunday for Alabama to the Florida Panhandle as Debby lashed parts of the Gulf Coast with wind and rain.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Sunday morning that Debby was about 170 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. It said the storm warning has now been issued from the Mississippi-Alabama border eastward to the Florida Panhandle's Ochlockonee River.

Debby's top sustained winds had increased to about 60 mph.  It is expected to become a Category 1 hurricane at some point.

People from Texas to Florida should remain alert to Debby's movement.

Forecasters said Debby could be near hurricane strength by Monday night. Meanwhile, up to six inches of rain were possible along the coast, with isolated amounts possibly reaching 10 inches.

Tropical Storm Irene Could Become Hurricane

 

Tropical Storm Irene, the ninth named storm of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, formed on Saturday east of the Caribbean's Leeward Islands and was heading westward, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

At 7 p.m, the storm was packing winds near 50 miles per hour and was about 190 miles east of Dominica, the Miami-based hurricane center said.

Irene's forecast track would pass near or over Puerto Rico and mountainous Hispaniola, the island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and the storm could be over the Florida Keys by late next week, forecasters say. It could develop into the first hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic season.

Depending on its eventual path, Irene could pose a threat to the United States or U.S. oil and gas installations in the Gulf of Mexico.

Tropical Storm Beatriz Could Become Hurricane

Tropical Storm Beatriz, the second named storm of the Pacific hurricane season, gathered strength off Mexico's Pacific Coast on Sunday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

A hurricane warning was in effect for the Mexican coast from Zihuatanejo westward to Manzanillo, and a watch was in effect from Manzanillo westward to La Fortuna, the National Hurricane Center said in its 11 p.m. PDT (0600 GMT on Monday) report.

The center of Beatriz was expected to approach the coast within the hurricane warning area by late Monday or early Tuesday, the center said.

Beatriz was 160 miles southwest of Zihuatanejo and headed west-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph) with maximum sustained winds of near 55 mph.

Mexico has no oil installations in the Pacific but its coast is dotted with beach resorts popular with U.S. tourists.

Tropical Storm/Hurricane Richard on the Move

With maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, Richard was centred about 95 miles east of Belize City, said the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Wind and rain from the 10th storm of the hurricane season have already battered Honduras' Caribbean coast.

Richard is moving north-west at about 12mph.  The Miami-based NHC forecasts it will cross Belize and southeastern Mexico later on Sunday, crossing the Yucatan peninsula before reaching the south-western Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday.

Mexican fishermen have already been evacuating the Yucatan peninsula.

A hurricane warning is in effect for the west coasts of Belize and Honduras.

The NHC warned a storm surge would raise water levels along the northern coasts of Belize and Honduras by as much as five feet, adding that this would be accompanied by "large and destructive waves".

Honduras could expect up to two inches of rain.

Igor: Next Tropical Storm

The name Igor sounds like a storm, and it is.

Igor is the latest tropical storm to form in the Atlantic Ocean could be around for quite a while.

The 40 mph system formed just off the coast of Africa and was shambling slowly west Wednesday. It was expected to drench the Cape Verde Islands overnight and early Thursday, reaching hurricane strength sometime this weekend.

From there, it's far too soon to predict Igor's fate, said Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman for the National Hurricane Center in West Miami-Dade County.

``This thing is more than 3,500 miles from Miami,'' he said. ``It's more than a week away from the Leewards.''

Igor, he said, was expected to track generally west along an atmospheric ridge, which could weaken and allow the storm to begin moving more to the west-northwest. It's an initial track similar to the one followed by Hurricane Earl, which was pushed by a cold trough back out to sea as it approached the mid-Atlantic coast. Igor is too far out for forecasters to speculate whether it will eventually curve out to sea as well.