Tropical Storm Arlene becomes the first named storm of the 2011 hurricane season, threatens Mexico’s east coast

The Government of Mexico has issued tropical storm and hurricane watches for eastern Mexico, from Barra de Nautla northward to La Cruz, as Tropical Storm Arlene became the first named storm of the season on June 29.Currently about 115 miles east of Mexico’s east coast city of Tampico, Arlene has maximum wind speeds between 50 mp-h and 85 mp-h. It is expected to increase in intensity to near-hurricane strength before making landfall near Tampico in the early morning of June 30. “The main threat Arlene poses is heavy rain that could bring life-threatening flash floods and mudslides in the mountains inland from Tampico,” said Dr. Tim Doggett, principal scientist of catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide. “Heavy rain is also expected in southernmost Texas near Brownsville and along the Rio Grande Valley.”