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Paloma Grows To Hurricane Near Caymans

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The Associated Press

Published: November 7, 2008

Paloma strengthened to a minimal hurricane with winds near 75 mph on Thursday as it churned toward the Cayman Islands and Cuba.
Forecasters say the storm is expected to continue strengthening as it moves north over the next day.

A hurricane warning is in effect for the Cayman Islands, where the storm could dump up to 8 inches of rain, said the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Paloma may make landfall in Cuba over the weekend, and Jamaica was warned to monitor its progress, the center said. It is not expected to pass over Florida.

The Cayman Islands' top elected official, Kurt Tibbetts, urged residents not to wait until the last minute to prepare for the storm.

"History has taught us that we cannot afford complacency during hurricane season, for conditions can rapidly deteriorate," he said.

Grocery stores reported brisk business by noon Thursday, and some people were boarding up windows.

Officials toured low-lying regions, concerned that a recent onslaught of rain could lead to quicker flooding.

As a tropical storm earlier Thursday, Paloma dumped rain on the remote Nicaragua-Honduras border.

Paloma formed early Thursday morning in the western Caribbean Sea from an area of low pressure that stalled off the coast of Central America.

The storm is expected to reach its maximum strength of close to 100 mph Sunday. At that time, the hurricane center says, Paloma should be approaching central or eastern Cuba, and it should reach the island Monday.

Most of the predictions intensity models have Paloma weakening over Cuba.

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