NEMO Tracks the Path of the Storm

The latest NEMO advisory was received at six o’clock. It states the following. Hurricane Earl is centered near Latitude seventeen point one north Longitude, eighty six point zero, west or about one hundred and three miles east-southeast of Half Moon Caye, one hundred and forty-one miles east-southeast of San Pedro Ambergris Caye, one hundred and forty-seven miles east of Dangriga, one hundred and fifty miles east-southeast of Belize City, one hundred and eighty-one miles east-southeast of Corozal Town, and one hundred and ninety eight miles east of Punta Gorda Town.  Maximum sustained winds are near seventy miles per hour with higher gusts.  Earl is moving fourteen miles per hour and some decrease in forward speed is expected.  On this track, Earl will make landfall in Belize tonight or early Thursday morning.  It will move over Half Moon Caye; Long Caye; Middle Caye; Long Caye Turneffe.  The main impact zone now seems to be shifting to Belize River Valley area villages such as Willows Bank; Rancho Dolores; Isabella Bank; Double Head Cabbage; and villages in southern Orange Walk such as Guinea Grass, Chang August Pine ridge San Felipe, Indian Church and parts of Corozal to a lesser extent.  Sequence of expected approach for Hurricane Earl is as follows: the outer atolls will be affected at about seven tonight. San Pedro, Caye Caulker, Corozal, Orange Walk and Belize City will experience forty miles per hour winds at about nine to eleven pm.  NEMO states that at midnight, we will begin to experience Hurricane force winds over the projected path. At one a.m., hurricane force winds will be over mostly the northern half of the country.