Hurricane Paula has been intensifying all morning long, and has just hit category 2 status. Hurricane Paula has maximum sustained winds of approximately 100 miles per hour, and is moving in a NNW direction at 10 miles per hour. It is located at 18.8N 85.8W, which puts the storm about 140 miles SSE of Cozumel, Mexico. The minimum central pressure has fallen to 981 millibars as of the 1:45 PM EST National Hurricane Center update.

Computer models are having a hard time dealing with the long term track of Hurricane Paula, as they are all in disagreement as to the strength and the direction of the storm. The National Hurricane Center has Paula making it’s way fairly close to the Mexican Island of Cozumel early tomorrow morning. It is possible that Paula may be a major category 3 storm by the time it brushes the shores of Cozumel. All interests along the East Coast of Mexico should pay close attention to this possibly deadly storm. The long range forecast for the storm is still iffy, so anyone who may be in it’s path, including Florida, especially the Keys, should continue to watch this dangerous storm.