According to information provided by National Hurricane Center (NHC) Air Force hurricane hunter plane, which has been tracking a strong tropical weather system throughout the Caribbean this week, that system has official been upgraded to tropical storm status.

The NHC issued its most recent public advisory on Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. EST, reporting that Tropical Storm Earl, the fifth named tropical storm of the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane season, was located approximately 215 miles south-southeast of Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands and about 535 miles east of Belize City, Belize.

Earl is currently moving on a westward track at 22 miles per hour and this motion is expected to continue for the next few days, although weather experts anticipate a decrease of forward speed to occur. Remaining on this track, the center of the storm is projected to approach the northern coast of Honduras late on Tuesday and will then move on toward Belize and the Yucatan peninsula by Wednesday night.

Currently, maximum sustained winds from Tropical Storm Earl are estimated at 45 miles per hour, with higher gusts also being recorded. Tropical storm-force winds are extending outward some 80 miles from the center of the system, whose minimum central pressure is estimated at 1001 mb (29.56 inches). The storm is forecast to strengthen before reaching the Yucatan peninsula.

A number of tropical storm warnings and hurricane watches were issued at the time of Tuesday afternoon's NHC advisory. A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected within the warning area over the following 36 hours. A hurricane watch indicates that hurricane conditions may become possible throughout the watch area throughout the next 48 hours.

As of the current advisory, the governments of Mexico and Belize have issued a tropical storm warning and hurricane watch for the east coast of the Yucatan peninsula, ranging from Punta Allen, Mexico, southward to the border of Guatemala and Belize. The Honduran government has issued a tropical storm warning for the entire northern coast of Honduras, from Cabo Gracias a Dios, westward to the border Honduras/Guatemala border.

In terms of wind-related hazards affecting land as a result of Earl, tropical storm conditions are expected to first reach the coast of Honduras by late Tuesday night. This may result in making outside preparations for the system in this area difficult and/or dangerous. Wind-related tropical storm conditions are forecast to reach Mexico, Belize and the nearby warning areas by late Wednesday night.

"The northern coast of Belize, as well as low-lying areas in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, could be subject to coastal flooding and beach erosion. In addition...trees can be knocked over and power outages are possible," said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. "The extent and severity of the rain and wind will depend on the strength of Earl at landfall. Flooding and sporadic power outages can occur even if a tropical storm or minimal hurricane moves ashore."

According to reports, weather related to this storm battered the Dominican Republic from Sunday through Monday, with at least six people having been reported killed after heavy winds knocked down power lines onto a bus in Nagua. Additionally, heavy rainfall has already been reported in Jamaica, where the storm is expected to dump between two and four more inches of rain before moving on.

As Earl continues on into the storm warning areas, total rain accumulations of 8-12 inches are anticipated over portions of Belize, Honduras, Guatemala and the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. In parts of Belize and Mexico, possible isolated amounts of rainfall could reach up to 16 inches, which may result in life-threatening flash floods and mud slides.

"Once over land, Earl will weaken, but locally torrential rainfall and gusty winds will continue in the region during Thursday," AccuWeather Hurricane Expect Dan Kottlowski said.

According to AccuWeather's experts, there is a chance that Earl will move back over the waters of the southwestern Gulf of Mexico before the end of the week. If this does occur, some renewed strengthening of the storm can be expected.

"A second landfall could occur in northwestern Mexico during Friday or this weekend, depending on Earl's track," Kottlowski said.

Stay tuned to LatinPost.com for additional updates on this storm, which we will post to our website as additional information becomes available.