Storm Karl hits Mexico
For the first time in more than a decade, two potent Atlantic storms were churning at the same time, weather forecasters said, although they posed no immediate threat to land.
"Two major hurricanes are occurring simultaneously in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time since 1999. Hurricanes Igor and Julia are both category four hurricanes," the Weather Channel reported.
Karl made landfall about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east-northeast of Chetumal, Mexico at about 1245 GMT Wednesday, with top wind speeds of 65 miles (100 kilometers) per hour.
The 11th named storm of the season, Karl was expected to hit Mexico twice, boomeranging onto the Mexican mainland, possibly as early as Friday, after its hit on the Yucatan.
The system threatens to dump more rain on Mexico, which already is struggling with flooding in southeastern states including Veracruz and Oaxaca.
Julia surged overnight to category four strength, with top sustained winds at 135 mph (215 kph) per hour, as it moved far out in the Atlantic.
Meanwhile, Igor was a category-four hurricane, the second highest rating on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale, the US National Hurricane Center said.
Igor whipped up dangerous swells in the Caribbean on Wednesday as it barreled west-northwest in the direction of Bermuda packing sustained winds of 145 miles (230 kilometers) per hour.
Igor is not expected to make landfall for days, but forecasters say storm swells will reach Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands by early Wednesday and move from there to Bermuda.
Dangerous surf was also affecting the Leeward islands, and should affect some of the Bahamas Wednesday.
At 0900 GMT Wednesday, Igor's eye was located some 570 miles (915 kilometers) east of the northern Leeward islands and it was heading west-northwestward at nine miles (15 kilometers) per hour, US experts said.
The National Hurricane Center said Karl could bring coastal flooding and up to eight inches of rain to Mexico and parts of Belize and northern Guatemala.
"A storm surge is expected to produce some coastal flooding near and to the north of where the center makes landfall," the center said. "The surge will be accompanied by large and damaging waves.
"Karl is expected to produce total rain accumulations of three to five inches over the Yucatan peninsula, Belize and northern Guatemala, with isolated maximum amounts of eight inches," the center added.
Almost one million people were affected by flooding this month alone, which left 25 dead. The rains, which began in July, are set to worsen as the rainy season continues to almost the end of the year.
More than one third of the Gulf coast state of Veracruz has been hit by flooding which affected some 500,000 people, according to governor Fidel Herrera.
The recent frenetic storm activity comes after prediction from forecasters that the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season would be one of the worst on record.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) predicted 14 to 23 named storms, including eight to 14 hurricanes, three to seven of which were likely to be "major" storms, with winds of at least 111 mph.
This is compared to an average six-month season of 11 named storms, six of which become hurricanes, two of them major.
NOAA said the period since 1995 has been one of unusually high storm activity with eight of the last 15 seasons ranking in the top ten for the most named storms.
taken from : http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100915/ts_alt_afp/atlanticusweatherstorm
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