Hurricane Rina Strikes Cancun and Cozumel

Poorly organized Hurricane Rina, weakening early Thursday as it bore down on Cancun and Cozumel.

Hurricane Rina formed from an area of disturbed weather off Central America’s Caribbean coast, then briefly threatened the Mexican resorts of Cancun and Cozumel with Category 2 force.

But the storm suddenly weakened to a tropical storm just prior to striking the “Riviera Maya.”

Cancun was spared even some of the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Wilma in 2005, which was the most intense storm ever recorded in the Atlantic basin.

But even in a weakened state, Rina threatened to dump beween 6 and 10 inches of rainfall over the eastern Yucatan Peninsula.

Most schools in the state of Quintana Roo were closed as a safety precaution. Residents in some of Cancun's poorer neighborhoods were being advised to move into shelters.

The storm spared Central America, where torrential rains that began in mid-October destroyed crops, damaged roads and affected more than 1 million people.

Hurricane Rina Track

Satellite Loop Data: CIMSS