New tropical storm is named Paula

Disaster News Network: Tropical Storm Paula formed Monday afternoon in the northwestern Caribbean prompting forecasters to post hurricane warnings along the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula from Punta Gruesa northward to Cancun.

According to the National Hurricane Center's 5 o'clock update, Paula was posting top winds of 60 mph and the pressure of 1000 mb was falling. Forecasters suggest the storm could become a hurricane within the next 24 hours however the future track of the storm is very uncertain. Some computer models show it weakening and disapearing as it interacts with land by the end of the week, others suggest it could stay just offshore and reach southern Florida next week.

"A turn toward the north-northwest and then toward the north is expected late Tuesday and early Wednesday," said Michael Brennan, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center. "On the forecast track, the center of Paula will begin moving away from the coast of Honduras tonight and Tuesday, and approach the coast within the hurricane warning area Tuesday night and Wednesday."

A hurricane warning has been issued for the coast of Mexico from Punta Gruesa northward to Cancun, including Cozumel. Additionally, a tropical storm warning has been issued from Chetumal northward to south of Punta Gruesa in Mexico….

A 2007 sunset in the Yucatan, shot by Daniel Rocha Góngora