Delta Becomes a Category 3 Major Hurricane as It Nears Mexico

(Bloomberg) -- Hurricane Delta has grown into a dangerous Category 3 storm as it looks set to batter Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula before eventually making landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The storm has winds of 115 miles (185 kilometers) per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center. It's threatening to reach Category 4 strength as it plows into the tourist centers of Cancun and Cozumel Tuesday, where it could cause upwards to $10 billion in losses and damages, said Chuck Watson, a disaster modeler with Enki Research.

The storm is expected to hit the U.S. coast later this week, somewhere between Louisiana and Florida. It would be the 10th tropical storm or hurricane to hit the U.S. this year, a record.

“Extremely dangerous storm surge and hurricane conditions are expected within portions of the northern Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico beginning tonight,” Eric Blake, a hurricane center meteorologist, wrote in his forecast.

Delta is the 25th named storm of the 2020 hurricane season, only the second time that mark has been reached in records going back to 1851. The U.S. has been pummeled by natural disasters in recent months, including violent storms in the Midwest and wildfires in California that have burned a record 4 million acres and sent smoke drifting as far as way as Europe.

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