Hurricane Felix in Central America gets Category Five
Hurricane Felix became an extremely dangerous Category Five storm as it swept through the southern Caribbean on a path toward Central America and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.
On a similar - though more southerly - track to that of last month's powerful Hurricane Dean, which killed 27 people, Felix's top sustained winds were at 270kph at 11 pm EDT (1000 AEST), the US National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
That made the second hurricane of the 2007 Atlantic storm season a Category Five storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, capable of causing catastrophic damage.
A hurricane watch, meaning hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours, was posted from Limon, Honduras, to the Honduran border with Nicaragua. Forecasters said hurricane conditions also were possible in extreme northeastern Nicaragua.
Forecasters at the hurricane centre said Felix had strengthened at one of the fastest rates ever seen, as measured by the drop in its minimum internal pressure, as it passed over the warm waters of the Caribbean.
They said they did not detect major factors to cause any appreciable weakening before it interacts with the land mass of Central America, and that it had not yet passed over the very warm waters of the western Caribbean. Warm water fuels hurricanes.
Hurricane Dean became a Category Five storm in mid-August before slamming into the Yucatan.
US Gulf of Mexico oil and natural gas producers, who account for about a third of the United States' crude production and 15 per cent of its natural gas production, were monitoring Felix, but had not yet evacuated offshore workers because its forecast track did not appear to threaten them.
Category Five hurricanes have been rare in the Atlantic. Before the devastating 2005 hurricane season, only two years on record had seen more than one Category Five storm.
The 2005 season had four, including Katrina, which devastated New Orleans, and Wilma, the strongest Atlantic storm ever seen. The increase in the number of top-ranked hurricanes has provided backing to research showing global warming may produce stronger tropical cyclones.
Despite its rapid strengthening, Felix was too far away to prove much of a threat to the Netherlands Antilles.
Dawn had broken on Curacao to reveal toppled trees and flooded streets but neither it nor its sister island Bonaire reported serious damage or casualties.
"The local population and visitors remained in their homes and hotels overnight. No calls were received on the emergency line set up in preparation for the storm," Bonaire Lt Governor Herbert Domacasse said in a statement.
In Curacao, unused to hurricanes because the storms normally track well to the north, supermarkets remained open late to allow residents to stock up on supplies. Authorities opened shelters and the airport closed for several hours.
Hurricane watches in Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao were lifted but tropical storm watches remained for Jamaica and Grand Cayman, although Felix was expected to keep well south as it moved west-northwest near 33km/h. It was expected to keep moving west to west-northwest through Monday.
The 2007 hurricane season, expected to be busy, is reaching its peak. Most storms come between August 20 and mid-October, with September 10 marking the statistical height of the season.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Henriette, which killed six people on Mexico's Pacific coast, headed for the Baja California peninsula and was likely to strengthen to a hurricane before hitting land.
The storm dumped heavy rain on the resort of Acapulco on Saturday, dislodging a boulder that crushed a man and his two children and triggering a mudslide that killed three others.
Henriette, carrying top sustained winds of almost 112kph, was forecast to pass near the Los Cabos beach resort on Tuesday before striking a sparsely populated desert area, the US National Hurricane Center said.
On a similar - though more southerly - track to that of last month's powerful Hurricane Dean, which killed 27 people, Felix's top sustained winds were at 270kph at 11 pm EDT (1000 AEST), the US National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
That made the second hurricane of the 2007 Atlantic storm season a Category Five storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, capable of causing catastrophic damage.
A hurricane watch, meaning hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours, was posted from Limon, Honduras, to the Honduran border with Nicaragua. Forecasters said hurricane conditions also were possible in extreme northeastern Nicaragua.
Forecasters at the hurricane centre said Felix had strengthened at one of the fastest rates ever seen, as measured by the drop in its minimum internal pressure, as it passed over the warm waters of the Caribbean.
They said they did not detect major factors to cause any appreciable weakening before it interacts with the land mass of Central America, and that it had not yet passed over the very warm waters of the western Caribbean. Warm water fuels hurricanes.
Hurricane Dean became a Category Five storm in mid-August before slamming into the Yucatan.
US Gulf of Mexico oil and natural gas producers, who account for about a third of the United States' crude production and 15 per cent of its natural gas production, were monitoring Felix, but had not yet evacuated offshore workers because its forecast track did not appear to threaten them.
Category Five hurricanes have been rare in the Atlantic. Before the devastating 2005 hurricane season, only two years on record had seen more than one Category Five storm.
The 2005 season had four, including Katrina, which devastated New Orleans, and Wilma, the strongest Atlantic storm ever seen. The increase in the number of top-ranked hurricanes has provided backing to research showing global warming may produce stronger tropical cyclones.
Despite its rapid strengthening, Felix was too far away to prove much of a threat to the Netherlands Antilles.
Dawn had broken on Curacao to reveal toppled trees and flooded streets but neither it nor its sister island Bonaire reported serious damage or casualties.
"The local population and visitors remained in their homes and hotels overnight. No calls were received on the emergency line set up in preparation for the storm," Bonaire Lt Governor Herbert Domacasse said in a statement.
In Curacao, unused to hurricanes because the storms normally track well to the north, supermarkets remained open late to allow residents to stock up on supplies. Authorities opened shelters and the airport closed for several hours.
Hurricane watches in Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao were lifted but tropical storm watches remained for Jamaica and Grand Cayman, although Felix was expected to keep well south as it moved west-northwest near 33km/h. It was expected to keep moving west to west-northwest through Monday.
The 2007 hurricane season, expected to be busy, is reaching its peak. Most storms come between August 20 and mid-October, with September 10 marking the statistical height of the season.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Henriette, which killed six people on Mexico's Pacific coast, headed for the Baja California peninsula and was likely to strengthen to a hurricane before hitting land.
The storm dumped heavy rain on the resort of Acapulco on Saturday, dislodging a boulder that crushed a man and his two children and triggering a mudslide that killed three others.
Henriette, carrying top sustained winds of almost 112kph, was forecast to pass near the Los Cabos beach resort on Tuesday before striking a sparsely populated desert area, the US National Hurricane Center said.