Riviera Maya, Q.R. — Early Tuesday monring, the NOAA reported a Hurricane Watch is in effect for the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico from Cabo Catoche to Punta Allen. As of 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, the weather agency reported Tropical Storm Grace was traveling toward the west near 16 mph (26 km/h).
Grace is expected to move over Jamaica today before nearing the Cayman Islands tonight. By Wednesday evening, Tropical Storm Grace will begin her approach toward the Cancun, Riviera Maya, prompting a hurricane watch for late Wednesday or early Thursday.
The NOAA says gradual strengthening of Grace is forecast during the next couple of days and could be near hurricane strength when it reaches the Mexican region.
On Monday, State Civil Protection head Adrián Martínez Ortega noted that Grace has maintained a trajectory for the coast of Quintana Roo resulting in the agency issuing a low-level alert for Tulum, Solidaridad, Cozumel, Puerto Morelos, Isla Mujeres, Benito Juárez and Lázaro Cárdenas.
As of early Tuesday, Mexico’s Conagua noted Grace’s location as 1,240 kilometers east-southeast of the coast of Quintana Roo with a forecast landing time of 1:00 a.m. Thursday morning.