Tropical Storm Roxanne Takes Path Similar to Hurricane Opal

Tropical storm Roxanne formed in the Caribbean on Monday, taking a path similar to the one Hurricane Opal followed when it killed 10 people in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula last week.

Roxanne became the 17th tropical storm of the busy 1995 Atlantic hurricane season. The record for tropical storms and hurricanes in a season is 21, set in 1933.

“I can’t believe this,” said hurricane specialist Max Mayfield. “I keep looking for the on-off switch and I can’t find it.”

Roxanne’s winds increased to 70 m.p.h. Monday night, when the storm center was about 230 miles southeast of Cozumel. It was heading northwest at about 10 m.p.h. and was expected to take a northwest turn by this afternoon.

Hurricane watches were issued for western Cuba, the Isle of Youth and the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Roxanne could reach the 74-m.p.h. threshold for a hurricane today.

Meteorologists each year choose an alphabetical list of 21 names for storms, leaving out Q, U, X, Y and Z. If all this year’s names are used, Mayfield said storms will be given military alphabet names: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc.

Thousands of Opal’s victims were told Monday they would be allowed to return to what’s left of their homes. Others were still barred, including 2,000 people who live on the heavily damaged gulf side of Pensacola Beach, the westernmost of three communities on 50-mile-long Santa Rosa Island.