Sheriff Soignet announces initial Hurricane Delta preparations
October 6, 2020
Hurricane Delta still a major storm as it approaches the Yucatan
October 7, 2020
The latest update shows Hurricane Delta is a little weaker, with maximum winds at 130 mph. Pressure is up too, at 960 mb. The forecast model has shifted landfall a tad more to the west, still at a category 3, on Friday night/Saturday morning around the Marsh Island or Vermillion Bay area.
At 1000 PM CDT (0300 UTC), the center of Hurricane Delta was located near latitude 19.5 North, longitude 85.1 West. Delta is moving toward the west-northwest near 16 mph (26 km/h). A west-northwestward to northwestward motion is expected over the next day or so. A slower northwestward to north-northwestward motion is forecast to begin on Thursday, and a northward motion is expected Thursday night and Friday. On the forecast track, the center of Delta will move over the northeastern portion of the Yucatan Peninsula early Wednesday. Delta is forecast to move over the southern Gulf of Mexico Wednesday afternoon, be over the southern or central Gulf of Mexico through Thursday, and approach the northern Gulf coast on Friday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 130 mph (215 km/h) with higher gusts. Delta is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Little change in strength is expected before the center reaches the coast of the Yucatan peninsula early
Wednesday. Although some weakening is likely when Delta moves over the Yucatan peninsula, re-strengthening is forecast when the hurricane moves over the southern Gulf of Mexico Wednesday night and Thursday.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 30 miles (45 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 105 miles (165 km). NOAA buoy 42056 recently measured a sustained wind of 65 mph (104 km/h) and a gust to 76 mph (122 km/h). The estimated minimum central pressure is 960 mb (28.35 inches).
