The 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season, which begins today, is already active. Yesterday, the first named storm of the season, Arthur, which formed off the Yucatán Peninsula, quickly made landfall at the Belize-Mexico border, dumping rain and kicking up surf.

Arthur moved north-west across the Yucatán with maximum sustained winds nearing 40 mph (64 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The storm hit land near the Mexican port city of Chetumal and Belize's Corozal city, dumping rain as far south as Belize City and kicking up strong surf on the popular tourist island of Ambergis Caye.

Tropical storm warnings were issued for Belize and Mexico's Caribbean coastline.

The storm is projected to weaken as it crosses the Yucatán before moving out into the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical depression early today.

There is, however, a chance it could strengthen back into a tropical storm before hitting Mexico, again south of Veracruz on Wednesday, said Jamie Rhome, a meteorologist with the Hurricane Center. Arthur is not expected to become a hurricane.