Grace touches down in Tulum as Category 1 hurricane, heads toward Yucatán

Hurricane Grace made landfall south of Tulum at 4:45 a.m. CDT as a Category 1 hurricane generating winds of 130 kmh with gusts to 155 kmh, the National Water Commission (Conagua) said.

There have been reports of minor damage while more than 149,000 homes were left without electricity in Cancún, Cozumel and Tulum.

The storm was located 180 kilometers east of Campeche and 135 kilometers west of Tulum at 10:00 a.m. CDT and moving west at 30 kmh, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Maximum winds had decreased to 100 kmh.

A hurricane warning is in effect for the coast of Veracruz from the city of Veracruz to Cabo Rojo and a tropical storm warning for the Yucatán Peninsula from Tulum to Campeche and from Cabo Rojo to Barra del Tordo in Tamaulipas.

Grace is forecast to continue crossing the Yucatán Peninsula Thursday, weakening as it does so, and move over the southwest Gulf of Mexico late Thursday night through Friday before making a second landfall on the coast of Veracruz as a Category 1 hurricane late Friday or early Saturday.

The national Civil Protection office declared a red alert Thursday morning for the eastern region of Yucatán.

Torrential rains are forecast in Yucatán and Quintana Roo during the next 24 hours, Conagua said in a bulletin issued at 5:00 a.m. CDT, with accumulated totals exceeding 250 millimeters and winds gusting to 150 kmh.

Three to five-meter waves and storm surges are forecast in coastal areas of both states.

Mexico News Daily