MIAMI, Florida — Data from a NOAA aircraft confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that Tropical Storm Earl has strengthened into Hurricane Earl over the Caribbean Sea and is projected to make landfall on the coast of Central America within hours.

Hurricane Earl Projected Path Update

As of 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Wednesday, August 3, 2016, Hurricane Earl is located over the western Caribbean Sea about 150 miles east of Belize City and is moving toward the west at 14 mph – this general direction is expected to continue with a decrease in forward speed over the next 48 hours. The core of Earl is forecast to pass near the Honduras Bay Islands during the next few hours, and then make landfall in Belize tonight or early Thursday.

After making landfall, Earl is expected to weaken into a tropical storm and then a tropical depression on Thursday as the tropical cyclone crosses over the Yucatan Peninsula. Earl is then forecast to reform into a tropical storm over the Bay of Campeche on Friday before making a second landfall along Mexico’s southeastern coast.

Hurricane Earl Strength

Hurricane Earl has maximum sustained winds at 70 mph, with higher gusts. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles (220 km) from the storm’s center, mainly to the northeast.  

Hurricane Earl Spaghetti Models

Spaghetti models are in good agreement that Hurricane Earl will make landfall on the coast of Belize.