Tropical Storm Karl is weakening over the Yucatan Peninsula, but forecasters say it could reach hurricane strength once it enters the Gulf of Mexico.
Karl made landfall Wednesday about 50 kilometers northeast of Chetumal, Mexico. The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Karl is expected to dump up to 13 centimeters of rain over the Yucatan Peninsula, Belize and northern Guatemala and could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.
Forecasters are also monitoring Hurricanes Igor and Julia as they swirl in the Atlantic. At last report, Igor was a Category Four storm on the five-point scale of hurricane intensity, with 215 kilometer per hour winds. Julia was further east in the Atlantic.
Neither hurricane poses any immediate threat to land, although the forecast track shows Igor approaching Bermuda by Sunday.
Hurricane Julia briefly intensified into a Category Four storm before weakening to a Category Three hurricane Wednesday with winds of 205 kilometers per hour. The storm is more than 1,000 kilometers west-northwest of the Cape Verde Islands.
The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and ends November 30.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
