CNN is reporting that a hurricane hunter aircraft found Wednesday that Hurricane Rina had "significantly weakened," and is now a Category 1 storm, the National Hurricane Center said.
Earlier Wednesday, the storm was hovering near major Category 3 hurricane status and was considered a strong Category 2 storm. Forecasters had initially said Rina could reach Category 3 status before making landfall on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, near the resort town of Cancun on Thursday.
As of about 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, Rina's maximum sustained winds had dropped to 85 mph. The center of the storm was located about 190 miles south-southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, and about 175 miles east-southeast of Chetumal, Mexico. It was moving west-northwest at about 5 mph.
The storm's approach prompted residents and tourists to make preparations, although many tourists found themselves stranded when they could not find flights out of Cancun.
No tourists had been evacuated from the state of Quintana Roo, which includes Cozumel and Cancun, as of Wednesday morning, Juan Gabriel Granados, operation director for state civil protection told CNN. The state civil protection agency was meeting with emergency officials every six hours, he said. Tourists on Wednesday reported they have had no luck finding flights out of Cancun, according to the report.
Keep visiting www.travelagentcentral.com for more updates on Hurricane Rina.