TROPICAL STORM CLAUDETTE MOVING NORTHWEST AND
BECOMING SOMEWHAT DISORGANIZED

July 10, 2003 � The NOAA National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla., reports that at 5 p.m. EDT the center of Tropical Storm Claudette was located near latitude 18.6 north, longitude 84.2 west or about 210 miles southeast of Cozumel, Mexico. Claudette is moving toward the northwest near 14 mph, and this general motion is expected to continue for the next 24 hours. This motion should bring the center over or near the northeastern Yucatan Peninsula Thursday night or Friday. (Click NOAA satellite image for larger view of Tropical Storm Claudette taken at 2 p.m. EDT on July 10, 2003. Click here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit “NOAA.”)

Maximum sustained winds are near 70 mph with higher gusts. Reports from an Air Force Reserve hurricane hunter and NOAA satellite imagery suggest that Claudette has become less organized Thursday afternoon. However, there is still the potential for it to
become a hurricane as it approaches the Yucatan Peninsula.

Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 160 miles mainly to the north of the center. Estimated minimum central pressure is 993 mb, 29.32 inches. (Click NOAA tracking map for larger view of Tropical Storm Claudette.)

Tides of 4 to 6 ft above normal, accompanied by large and dangerous battering waves, are possible in the hurricane warning area near and to the north of where the center crosses the coast. Above normal tides, accompanied by dangerous waves along the south coasts of the Cayman Islands, should begin to subside later Thursday.

Storm total rainfalls of 4 to 8 inches are likely in association with Claudette. NOAA satellite imagery shows outer rainbands over the Cayman Islands and portions of Cuba at this time, and rainbands should spread over the Yucatan Peninsula Thursday night. (Click NOAA satellite image for larger view of Tropical Storm Claudette taken at 2 p.m. EDT on July 10, 2003. Click here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit “NOAA.”)

At 5 p.m. EDT, the government of Mexico changed the tropical storm warning to a hurricane warning from Cabo Catoche to Progreso. A hurricane warning is now in effect on the eastern and northern coasts of the Yucatan Peninsula from Chetumal to
Progreso.

A tropical storm warning remains in effect along the northern and western coasts of the Yucatan Peninsula from Progreso to Campeche and along the Belize coast from Belize City northward to the Belize-Mexico border.

A tropical storm warning remains in effect for Grand Cayman. A tropical storm watch remains in effect for Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. These warnings could be discontinued Thursday night.

Interests elsewhere in Belize, the Yucatan Peninsula and western Cuba should monitor the progress of Claudette.

For storm information specific to your area, please monitor products issued by NOAA National Weather Service local forecast offices.

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Relevant Web Sites
NOAA National Hurricane Center — Get the latest advisories here

NOAA Atlantic Hurricanes Database — 150 Years of Atlantic Hurricanes

NOAA Forecasters Say Six to Nine Hurricanes Could Threaten in 2003

Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

NOAA River Forecast Centers

NOAA Flood Products

NOAA Rainfall Graphics
24-hour Observed Precipitation as of 8 a.m. today

Latest rainfall data as of 8 a.m. EDT today

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NOAA Tides Online

NOAA Satellite Images — The latest satellite views

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NOAA 3-D Satellite Images

NOAA Hurricanes Page

NOAA's Storm Watch — Get the latest severe weather information across the USA

Media Contact:
Frank Lepore, NOAA Hurricane Center, (305) 229-4404