Felix now a Category Five!

At 6:07 PM CDT on Sunday evening, Hurricane Hunter aircraft using a stepped frequency microwave radiometer measured maximum sustained winds at 165 MPH. Minimum central pressure was measured at 934 millibars. At these high intensities, fluctuations in intensity are common as the storm goes through what is known as an "eyewall replacement cycle".

As of this article, the computer models are forecasting Felix to make landfall as a category five hurricane near Belize City, Belize. Felix will then move across the Yucatan Peninsula and make a second landfall near La Pesca, Mexico (about halfway between Tampico and the US-Mexico Border.

The National Hurricane Center is having some uncertainty in this forecast as a low pressure currently over the northwestern Pacific Ocean is forecast to move east. When this happens a trough over low pressure will develop, causing the high pressure over the Gulf of Mexico (which is preventing northwards motion of Felix) to break down, allowing Felix to move more northerly. The key factors will be how much the high breaks down, the speed of the Pacific Low, and the speed of Hurricane Felix. My advice is for all Gulf Coast residents to continue to monitor the progress of Felix should he turn more northerly.

Infrared Satellite Image of Felix at 6:45 PM CDT 9/2/07