Hurricane Delta Slams Yucatan Peninsula; Heads Towards U.S. Gulf Coast
Hurricane Delta, the 25th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, made landfall in Puerto Morelos, Mexico early on Wednesday morning. The Category 2 storm contained winds of 110 mph (177 kph) as it came ashore in the popular resort region. Before weakening upon landfall, Delta became the fastest intensifying storm on record in the Atlantic Basin, morphing from a tropical depression to Category 4 hurricane in just over 36 hours. Delta is on track to break another record by becoming the 10th named storm to make landfall in the United States in one season, as it is poised to strike the Louisiana coastline later on Friday. A Louisiana landfall also would break a record for the state, by becoming the 4th named storm to do so this year, an occurrence that has never been recorded so far.
Hurricane #Delta has strengthened back to a category 2 hurricane. Hurricane and Storm Surge Warnings are in effect for portions of the northern Gulf coast. Go to https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb and https://t.co/SiZo8ozBbn for more information. pic.twitter.com/pmVTIWOJIZ
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) October 8, 2020
Although not as intense as initially forecasted, Delta did manage to leave its mark across the Yucatan Peninsula from Cozumel to Cancun. Heavy rain falling over soils saturated by Tropical Storm Gamma this past weekend, led to widespread street flooding in many downtown districts. Thousands of tourists were evacuated from hotels and sent to shelters to wait out the storm.
Here’s a look at some of the damage in Cancun this morning from #HurricaneDelta. #Delta pic.twitter.com/klcCfmVE0t
— Lexi Birmingham (@LexiBirmWX) October 7, 2020
The strong winds managed to topple trees and power lines, which lead to power outages for thousands of residents. Around half the cities in the state of Quintana Roo were without power as of Wednesday morning. Despite structural damage to some buildings in the form of blown out windows and damaged roofs, the damage is considered minor, compared to what was expected. Thankfully, no injuries or deaths have been reported so far.
#HurricaneDelta makes landfall in Mexico, toppling trees. A view of some of the debris left by Hurricane Delta in Cancun, in Cancun, Mexico, … All of the windows had been covered with plywood so they couldn’t see what was … pic.twitter.com/A8NqRJN4dd
— H24 (@H24News_) October 8, 2020
Next stop for Delta is the hurricane ravaged state of Louisiana, where the storm is forecasted to make its second landfall. Storm weary residents, still reeling from Hurricane Laura in late August, are anxiously awaiting Delta’s arrival. Hurricane warnings are already in place and preparations are underway. Delta has begun to restrengthen after emerging over the Gulf of Mexico, and is forecast to grow in size as it approaches the Gulf Coast. A bigger storm would lead to more widespread damage in the form of storm surge, damaging winds, and flooding rains. Landfall is anticipated to occur either late Friday night or early Saturday morning as a high-end Category 2 storm, with winds of 110 mph (177 kph).
#Delta‘s western eyewall putting on a spectacular show this evening.
Check out those overshooting tops and associated gravity waves!
Intensification underway once again, especially if these storms can pivot around to the hurricane’s eastern side pic.twitter.com/i2qFMCBeZ1
— Jack Sillin (@JackSillin) October 7, 2020
