October 10, 1995
Web posted at: 1:15 p.m. EDT (1715 GMT)
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- After being upgraded to hurricane status overnight, Roxanne was strengthening Tuesday over the northwest Caribbean Sea, the same area where Hurricane Opal was born before it crashed into the Gulf coasts of Mexico and the United States last week. Forecasters expect the storm's strongest winds will move over the northeastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula near midnight Tuesday.
At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), Roxanne was about 115 miles (185
kilometers) southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, moving west around
8 mph, with sustained winds of 110 mph. A hurricane warning
was issued for the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from
Chetumal north and west to Progreso. A hurricane watch was
in effect for the west coast of the Yucatan peninsula from
just west of Progreso to the city of Carmen. A tropical
storm warning remained in effect for extreme western Cuba but
other watches and warnings for the remainder of Cuba and the
Cayman Islands were discontinued at 11 a.m. EDT.
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 km). (325K QuickTime movie)
Roxanne, which formed early Monday, south of the Cayman Islands, threatens the same area where Hurricane Opal roared ashore a week ago, killing at least 10 people in Mexico.
Five to 10 inches of rain are possible in the Cayman Islands, western Cuba and the Yucatan by Wednesday, forecasters said. In addition, people in the Florida Keys were urged to monitor the storm because Roxanne's outer bands could reach the Florida Straits.
After pounding Mexico's Gulf Coast last Monday, Opal strengthened further over the Gulf of Mexico and slammed into the Florida Panhandle with top sustained winds of more than 140 mph. It killed at least 21 people in four states and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses, causing $1.8 billion in damage to insured property.
Roxanne is the 17th named storm of this hurricane season and the first to have a name beginning with "R" since the National Hurricane Center started naming storms in 1950. The record for tropical storms and hurricanes in a season is 21, set in 1933. The alphabetical list of hurricane names skips the letter Q.
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