MEXICO CITY—Tropical Storm Karl is expected to make a southward turn off Mexico’s southern Gulf coast on Wednesday and approach land by the weekend without gaining hurricane strength.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Karl had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (70 kph) Wednesday. It was centered about 200 miles (320 kilometers) north-northeast of the port city of Veracruz and was still moving north at 3 mph (6 kph).
The center said that while Karl may move northward a while longer, atmospheric conditions are likely to reverse it back towards Mexico’s southern Gulf coast, where it could reach land by Friday.
Tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 105 miles (165 kilometers) from the center.
The hurricane center said Karl could bring up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain to isolated parts of Veracruz and Tabasco states.
Karl formed one day after former Hurricane Julia dissipated in the Pacific after having directly or indirectly caused the deaths of at least 28 people in Central America and Mexico following its landfall on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast.
