Hurricane Delta makes landfall along Yucatan, heads toward Gulf Coast

Hurricane Delta made landfall early Wednesday along the Yucatan Peninsula near Puerto Morelos, packing winds estimated at 110 mph.

The hurricane that made landfall at about 6:30 a.m. ET was forecast to bring a life-threatening storm surge that would raise water levels in parts of the Yucatan to as much as 8 to 12 feet above normal tide.

"Conditions are going downhill fast for northeastern Yucatan, while storm surge and hurricane watches will be issued later today for parts of the United States Gulf Coast," the National Hurricane Center said at 4 a.m. ET as the storm approached the area.

Delta increased in strength by 80 mph in just 24 hours, more than doubling from a 60 mph storm at 2 p.m. ET Monday to 140 mph at 2 p.m. ET Tuesday. Its top winds peaked at 145 mph before weakening slightly late Tuesday as it closed in on Yucatan.

The governor of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, Carlos Joaquín, said the government had prepared, but he warned residents and tourists that “it is a strong, powerful hurricane.” He considered it a good sign that Delta had weakened a bit late Tuesday, but said the area hadn’t seen a storm like it since Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Thousands of Quintana Roo residents and tourists hunkered down in dozens of government shelters, waiting for landfall. Everyone had been ordered off the streets by 7 p.m.

Throughout Tuesday, the evacuations of low lying areas, islands and the coastline expanded as Delta exploded over the warm Caribbean waters offshore. Much of Cancun’s hotel zone was cleared out as guests were bused to inland shelters. In Cancun alone, the government opened 160 shelters.

Some 300 guests and nearly 200 staff from the Fiesta Americana Condesa hotel were taken to the Technological Institute of Cancun campus. All wearing masks, they spread out on thin mattresses in a classroom building and tried to get comfortable as workers boarded up the building’s windows in a light rain. Some played cards or watched videos on their phones, while others called relatives.

“The hotel has done a good job of making sure that we were provided for and that we’re going to be safe here in this place, so we don’t have any concerns at all,” said Shawn Sims, a tourist from Dallas sheltering with his wife, Rashonda Cooper, and their sons, 7-year-old Liam and 4-year-old Easton.

“This is my first (hurricane) experience, but I see that these guys have a plan and they know what they’re doing,” Sims said.

Related: Severe weather