Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog:
Hurricane Karl: first major hurricane ever in the Bay of Campeche; Bermuda eyes Igor
Posted: 10:47 AM EDT on September 17, 2010
Hurricane Karl explosively deepened into a dangerous Category 3 hurricane this morning, becoming the fifth major hurricane of this remarkably active 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. Karl is the first major hurricane on record in the Gulf of Mexico's Bay of Campeche--the region bounded by the Yucatan Peninsula on the east. Given that the Bay of Campeche coast has never experienced a hurricane as strong as Karl, its impact is likely to cause unprecedented damage to a 50-mile wide coastal areas between Veracruz and Poza Rica. Of greatest concern are Karl's winds, which will cause severe damage to thousands of buildings along the storm's path, and the hurricane's torrential rains, since the region has high mountains near the coast that will experience extreme rainfall and flooding.