Arthur Arrives Right On Time

Today is the first day of the Atlantic Hurricane Season. And heeeeeeeeeere's Arthur:

Actually, Arthur arrived a little early. It was a tropical storm yesterday, but it's weakened to a tropical depression today. From the NHC :

...ARTHUR WEAKENS TO A TROPICAL DEPRESSION...THREAT OF HEAVY RAINS CONTINUES...

AT 10 AM CDT...1500 UTC...THE GOVERNMENTS OF BELIZE AND MEXICO HAVE DISCONTINUED ALL WARNINGS.

AT 1000 AM CDT...1500Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL DEPRESSION ARTHUR WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 18.1 NORTH...LONGITUDE 90.7 WEST OR ABOUT 125 MILES...200 KM...SOUTH OF CAMPECHE MEXICO.

THE DEPRESSION IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-SOUTHWEST NEAR 8 MPH...AND THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. ON THIS FORECAST TRACK...ARTHUR IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN INLAND OVER SOUTHERN MEXICO.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 35 MPH...55 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. ADDITIONAL WEAKENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS AND ARTHUR COULD DEGENERATE INTO A REMNANT LOW LATER TODAY.

ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 1006 MB...29.71 INCHES.

ARTHUR IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAIN ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES OVER PORTIONS OF BELIZE...GUATEMALA...AND SOUTHEASTERN MEXICO WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS UP TO 15 INCHES. THESE RAINS COULD CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS AND MUD SLIDES...ESPECIALLY IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.

For some radar images of what Arthur looked like over Mexico yesterday and some pretty pictures of the Caribbean sky, check out Wayne's blog entry from yesterday.

Arthur doesn't seem like much, but don't get complacent. It's hot this year. HOT. And it's still early. That's it from Hurricane Land today. I'm going to the beach.