Will Tropical Storm Alex hit Oiled Gulf?

Tropical storm Alex formed within the Western Caribbean Saturday, and forecasters said it was unclear if it would hit the massive oil spill inside the Gulf of Mexico.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami mentioned early Saturday that the storm has optimum sustained winds of about 40 mph. Most storm prediction models show Alex traveling more than the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico above the weekend, but they no longer have it going across the oil spill as soon as it reaches the Gulf, hurricane forecaster Jack Bevens said.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for the coast of Belize and also the east coast from the Yucatan Peninsula, which separates the Caribbean Sea in the Gulf of Mexico.

It’s as well early to tell if the storm will hit the northeastern part from the Gulf, wherever the spill has spread more than the past 10 weeks, Bevens mentioned. Although the current forecast track has the storm shifting away through the spill, Bevens noted that could change.

Somewhere between 69 million and 132 million gallons of crude have spewed into the water since the rig Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 workers.

The storm raises concerns over what may take place to efforts to contain the oil if BP is forced to abandon the region for a while. An armada of ships is working inside the Gulf.

A cap has been placed above the blown-out undersea well and it is carrying a number of the oil to some surface ship wherever it’s becoming collected. Some of the oil is being brought to the surface and burned. Other ships are drilling two relief wells, projected to be done by August, and are the finest hope to stop the leak.

Forecasters have said they can’t speculate about what rough weather would do to oil in the water.

The depression is on track to reach the peninsula by late Saturday. It can be about 220 miles east of Belize City and about 250 miles east-southeast of Chetumal.

Meanwhile inside the Pacific, two main hurricanes are swirling but do not pose an immediate threat to land. Darby has weakened to a Category 2 storm, with optimum sustained winds near 110 mph.

The hurricane is about 300 miles southwest of Zihuatanejo, Mexico. It is heading west-northwest around 6 mph.

Hurricane Celia has weakened with a Category 2 storm farther out in the Pacific. Celia’s highest sustained winds have decreased to 100 mph. It’s about 880 miles southwest with the southern tip of Baja California. The hurricane center says Celia is approaching cooler waters and is expected to continue weakening.

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