Tropical Storm Franklin Gathering Strength and Heading For Mainland

Locals and tourists visiting Cancun were issued with a weather warning as tropical storm Franklin approaches the popular vacation spot.

The near hurricane strength storm is expected to make landfall in the country’s Yucatan peninsula on Monday evening, with minor coastal flooding and high surf also expected to be felt in Texas later in the week, Weather.com reported.

It is also set to hit the eastern coast of Mexico later in the week, by which point it will have gained strength and may even have become a hurricane.

Residents along the eastern coast, as well as in the Yucatan Peninsula, have been warned to expect mudslides, power outages and high winds, along with potential coastal flooding as the storm makes its way north.

“Franklin will at least graze the northern coast of Honduras through Monday morning before hitting the Yucatan,” according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rossio.

“Downpours will first reach the eastern Yucatan on Monday afternoon with the worst impacts across the peninsula on Monday night into Tuesday," he added.

However, the storm itself is unlikely to reach the U.S., although there is a small chance it could brush past Texas, while the areas in Mexico affected include coastal Cozumel and Cancun, areas popular with tourists.

Along with winds at almost hurricane speed, the tropical storm will potentially bring 10-foot waves to Mexico’s Caribbean coast before moving down to the country’s Gulf of Mexico, and then to eastern Mexico—potentially developing into a hurricane before it strikes the country a second time.

Belize is also on tropical storm watch, with Franklin having started more than 400 miles southeast of the Yucatan Peninsula and posing a threat to northern central American countries, which are likely to experience heavy rainfall at the very least while the storm passes by.