Rina rapidly strengthens into a category two hurricane

[News_Editor]

Rina rapidly strengthens into a category two hurricane

2011-10-25 21:43:49 GMT+7 (ICT)

MIAMI (BNO NEWS) -- Hurricane Rina, located in the northwestern Caribbean Sea and approaching the Yucatan Peninsula, rapidly strengthened into a category two storm on early Tuesday morning, forecasters said.

Forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) have been following the weather system since Thursday morning when a broad area of low pressure was centered between the eastern tip of Honduras and Jamaica. It became a tropical storm on Sunday evening before strengthening into a hurricane on Monday afternoon.

As of 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) on Tuesday, the center of Rina was located about 300 miles (480 kilometers) east-southeast of Chetumal, a Mexican city on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. It is moving toward the west-northwest at about 3 miles (6 kilometers) per hour.

Maximum sustained winds of Rina have increased to near 105 miles (165 kilometers) per hour, with higher gusts, making it a category two hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity. "Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 15 miles (30 kilometers) from the center, and tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 115 miles (185 kilometers)," the NHC said.

Further strengthening is likely, and Rina could become a major category three hurricane on Tuesday evening. "Additional strengthening seems likely until increasing south-southwesterly shear halts the intensification process, which is expected to occur in about 48 hours," said NHC senior hurricane specialist Richard Pasch.

Rina is expected to approach the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday morning as a category three hurricane, after which it is forecast to make landfall just south of the Mexican city of Cancun. The current forecast shows the center of Rina moving just west of Cancun.

As a result, a hurricane warning has been issued for the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from north of Punta Gruesa to Cancun. In addition, a tropical storm warning is in effect from Chetumal to Punta Gruesa.

"Hurricane conditions are expected to reach the coast within the hurricane warning area by early Thursday with tropical storm conditions expected by Wednesday afternoon, making outside preparations difficult or dangerous," said NHC senior hurricane specialist Michael Brennan. "Tropical storm conditions are expected to reach the coast in the tropical storm warning area on Wednesday."

Rina is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 8 to 16 inches (20.3 to 40.6 centimeters) over the eastern Yucatan Peninsula from Wednesday morning into Thursday, according to the NHC.

Rina is the seventeenth named storm of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, following category one Hurricane Philippe which formed in the far eastern Atlantic in late September and dissipated earlier this month without affecting any land.

According to figures released last month, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center is expecting an above-normal hurricane season in the Atlantic this year. The outlook calls for 14 to 19 named storms, with seven to ten becoming hurricanes and three to five expected to become a major hurricane (category 3 or higher).

An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 11 named storms, with six becoming hurricanes and two becoming major hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, with peak activity in September.

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