The storm is projected to be near hurricane strength when it makes its final landfall in mainland Mexico on Friday.
Tropical Storm Grace was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane Wednesday morning as it approached Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Grace is forecasted to remain a hurricane as it moves through the Yucatán Peninsula overnight and should still be at hurricane strength when it makes its final landfall late Friday in mainland Mexico. The Yucatán Peninsula is expected to receive up to a foot of rain from Grace, which is the second hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic season after Elsa in early July. Grace hit the Cayman Islands Wednesday with heavy rainfall and 75 mph winds after already drenching earthquake-damaged Haiti, where it delayed search and rescue efforts on the island. While Grace was forming into a hurricane, Tropical Depression Fred was still coursing through the eastern United States.
