Hurricane Earl has formed in the Western Caribbean.  Hurricane Hunters found sustained winds up to 75 mph near the former tropical storm's center Wednesday afternoon.  The National Hurricane Center has issued Hurricane Warning for the Bay Islands, the north coast of Honduras, Belize, and parts of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. As of 5 pm, Earl was located 150 miles east of Belize City and was moving west at 14 mph.

Hurricane Earl will continue its westward track toward the Yucatan Peninsula.  Landfall is expected in Belize by early Thursday morning.  If the system survives its track over land, it would emerge over the Bay of Campeche, and potentially make a second landfall in southeastern Mexico this weekend.

The biggest threat from Earl will be flooding, due to high rainfall rates, and damage from hurricane force winds.  Confidence is high that the storm will not impact the State of Florida. However, outer rain bands, rip currents, and high surf could potentially move as far north as southeast Texas this weekend.

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