Hurricane Dean Hits Mexico, Weakens

Packing gusts of up to 200 mph, Category 5 Hurricane Dean came ashore on the eastern shore of the Yucatan Peninsula early Tuesday near Chetumal.

Hours later, forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said sustained winds had diminished to 125 mph, which is a Category 3 storm. Winds extend outwards 60 miles in all directions from the eye wall. Tropical storm force winds reached outwards 175 miles from the center, forecasters said.

Dean was moving toward the west-northwest nearly 20 mph and was expected to maintain hurricane status for at least 24 hours although further weakening over land was expected.

The storm was forecast to cross the Yucatan Peninsula Tuesday and reach the southern Bay of Campeche Tuesday night.

Then once over hot, tropical Gulf of Mexico waters, it was likely to regain strength and continue westward toward central Mexico, forecast models showed.

The storm is already blamed for at least nine deaths in the Caribbean in Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, St. Lucia and Dominica.

Hurricane warnings were posted on both coasts of the Yucatan and in neighboring Belize.