Thursday, July 10, 2008

First Hurricane No Threat to Gulf Beaches


Gulf Beaches are keeping a close eye on Hurricane Bertha churning out in the Carribean.

Tropical storm "Bertha" turned into the first hurricane in the Atlantic season on Monday with a windspeed of more than 120 km per hour, said the National Meteorology Service of Mexico.

Yet a statement said it was still too far away for the storm to become an immediate danger for the Mexican east coast or the Tampa Bay beaches on the west coast of Florida.

The center of "Bertha" was located 3,805 km east off Quintana Roo coast, southeast of Mexico, and 1,365 km east to the north of the Caribbean islands Minor Antilles.

The hurricane blew with sustained winds of 120 km per hour on Monday and the highest windspeed reached 160 km per hour. It could move to 3,650 km east off Quintana Roo coast on Monday.

Meanwhile, the tropical depression 5-E has weakened, though it brought rains in Lazaro Cardenas in southern Mexican state of Michoacan. Civil Protection authorities have already sent alerts to the citizens and the navigators due to the downpours produced by the tropical storm 5-E.