RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Less than two days after its formation, Delta strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane. Its wind speeds climbed to 80 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 11 p.m. Monday advisory.
Hurricane Delta was about 180 miles south-southeast of Grand Cayman. It was moving in a west-northwest direction at about 7 mph, the NHC said.
Delta is the ninth hurricane of the season.
A faster northwestward motion is expected through Wednesday night. The center of Hurricane Delta is forecast to pass southwest of the Cayman Islands early Tuesday. It will then approach the northeastern portion of the Yucatan peninsula and the Yucatan Channel on Tuesday afternoon or evening, the notice said.
Hurricane Delta is then expected to be over the south-central Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday or Wednesday night. It is forecast to continue strengthening over the next day or so, and “is expected to be a major hurricane when it nears the Yucatan Peninsula.”
A hurricane warning is in effect for Tulum to Rio Lagartos in Mexico and Cozumel.