Major Hurricane Paloma moved from Cayman Brac overnight Friday night/Saturday morning and made landfall in Southeast Cuba at 6:20 p.m. EST Saturday evening as a Category 3 Hurricane near Santa Cruz Del Sur.
As of 4 a.m. EST, Hurricane Paloma was located about 30 miles east-southeast of Camaguey, Cuba.
Paloma produced 62-mph wind gusts and 6 inches of rain on Grand Cayman and an estimated peak wind of 117 mph plus at least 16.5 inches of rain on Cayman Brac.
Paloma, is now a Category 1 storm with 85 mph winds, and has weakened considerably since its landfall over Southeast Cuba. Weakening will continue through Monday as Paloma gets torn by upper-level shearing and the remainder of its trip across Cuba. Flash flooding and strong winds will continue to be a major threat to Cuba.
Hurricane warnings remain in effect for most of the southeastern and northeastern coasts of Cuba. Tropical storm warnings have been posted for the southeastern Cuba coast and the central Bahamas as well.
Flash flooding and mudslides to eastern Cuba are possible today.
Beyond today, the aforementioned increase in shearing winds aloft, combined with the higher elevations of Cuba, should quickly weaken Paloma to a tropical storm before re-emerging off of the northeastern Cuba Coast sometime this afternoon. It will then move towards the central Bahamas, prompting the tropical storm warnings there.
(bahamaislandsinfo.com)
Paloma produced 62-mph wind gusts and 6 inches of rain on Grand Cayman and an estimated peak wind of 117 mph plus at least 16.5 inches of rain on Cayman Brac.
Paloma, is now a Category 1 storm with 85 mph winds, and has weakened considerably since its landfall over Southeast Cuba. Weakening will continue through Monday as Paloma gets torn by upper-level shearing and the remainder of its trip across Cuba. Flash flooding and strong winds will continue to be a major threat to Cuba.
Hurricane warnings remain in effect for most of the southeastern and northeastern coasts of Cuba. Tropical storm warnings have been posted for the southeastern Cuba coast and the central Bahamas as well.
Flash flooding and mudslides to eastern Cuba are possible today.
Beyond today, the aforementioned increase in shearing winds aloft, combined with the higher elevations of Cuba, should quickly weaken Paloma to a tropical storm before re-emerging off of the northeastern Cuba Coast sometime this afternoon. It will then move towards the central Bahamas, prompting the tropical storm warnings there.
(bahamaislandsinfo.com)