Hurricane Delta made landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 2 storm this morning, packing 110-mph winds after weakening from a Category 4 storm over the Caribbean.
Maximum sustained winds had topped out at 145 mph Tuesday, and the storm is moving northwest at 15 to 20 mph, according to The Weather Channel.
The National Hurricane Center said satellite imagery, radar data from Cuba and surface observations in Mexico show that the center of Delta struck near Puerto Morelos around 5:30 a.m. local time, according to the Associated Press.
The storm is expected to move over the southern Gulf of Mexico this afternoon and approach the northern Gulf Coast on Friday, according to NBC.
Although the storm has weakened, forecasters warn that Delta is still “extremely dangerous and that life-threatening storm surge could raise water levels between 9 and 13 feet.”
Delta will likely strengthen once it’s back over open water, according to CNN, and hurricane and storm surge watches will likely be issued later today along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
