Helene approaches the Yucatan Peninsula

In its transit through the Caribbean Sea, tropical storm Helene is approaching the Yucatan Peninsula, with maximum sustained winds of 100 kilometers per hour, the National Hurricane Center informed.

In its bulletin 8 on the evolution of this hydrometeorological event, the institution forecasts that Helene will strengthen as it approaches the northeast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

The CNH issued tropical storm warnings for the Cuban provinces of Artemisa, Pinar del Rio and Isla de la Juventud, as well as all the Florida Keys, the west coast from Flamingo to the Anclote River, including Tampa Bay and west of Mexico Beach to the Walton/Bay County border, among the most significant.

Helene is moving northwestward at 10 miles per hour and should maintain its track through this morning.

The CNH forecasts that the eighth storm of the current Atlantic and Caribbean cyclone season will rapidly spread and strengthen over the eastern Gulf of Mexico and then become a major hurricane on Thursday.

Tropical Storm Alberto was the first to circulate in the region, followed by Hurricane Beryl which became a Category 5 hurricane. This was followed by Cyclone Chis and in late July by Debby, the second hurricane to reach Category 1.

Ernesto was the third category 2 hurricane of this season, which began on June 1 and will last until November 30, followed by Francine and then tropical storm Gordon.