TULUM -- Hurricane Dean plowed into the Caribbean coast of Mexico Tuesday night as a Category 5 storm, with sustained winds of 160mph, making it the most intense Atlantic storm to make landfall in two decades, and the 9th strongest Atlantic storm in history. At post time, the storm had weakened to a Category 3 and is moving across the western side of the Yucatan. The eye of the storm came ashore around 5:30am local time near the Majahual cruiseship port, which is about 40 miles north of the Mexico-Belize border and more than an hour south of Playa del Carmen. Fortunately, the area is sparsely populated and had largely been evacuated.
Dean was the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall since Hurricane Andrew in 1992 in South Florida. Reports indicate the storm was intensifying right up until landfall, feeding off the Caribbean’s warm water temperatures.The Cancun airport will be open for arrivals and departures as early as tomorrow and most hotels, restaurants and tourist centers will reopen within days.
More:
National Hurricane Center Official Site
Riviera Maya Hotels
Airport Transportation
Tours & Activities
Riviera Maya Guidebook
