Hurricane Joan's 80 mph winds churned across the open Caribbean today on an unusual southern path that has forecasters puzzling over its potential strength and possible landfall. There was a report that the storm left 50 people dead or missing in a town in Colombia the day before. ``Joan is one of a kind,'' said Jim Gross, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center. ``You just don't see many hurricanes that take this course and hug the coast.'' In Colombia, an official of the state of Bolivar in the northern part of the country said the storm triggered flooding in the town of Carmen de Bolivar, about 360 miles north of the capital of Bogota. Water roared down three gullies in the town as the storm passed Monday, Victor Leon Mendoza, a state government administrator, told the Colombian radio chain RCN. ``Preliminary reports from the mayor's office indicate that about 50 persons are dead or missing'' in the town, he said. At noon EDT today, Joan's center was near latitude 11.1 north and longitude 76.3 west, about 70 miles west of the Colombian coast and about 380 miles east of the island of San Andres off the coast of Nicaragua. The hurricane was moving west at 10 mph and was expected to continue that motion through today. Panama issued a hurricane watch for its north coast, and Colombia issued a hurricane watch for San Andres, which is part of Colombia even though it is located close to Nicaragua. Joan, the Atlantic season's fifth hurricane, is expected to bring 4 to 8 inches of rain along its path. As a tropical storm with 45 mph winds, Joan slowly built its strength as it skimmed Colombia's coast, baffling forecasters who had predicted it to weaken. It reached hurricane force Monday night and its center began to become better defined, a sign the system could intensify over open water into the western Caribbean, forecasters said. On its present path, it would be at least 48 hours before the main part of the hurricane reached Central America, Gross said late Monday. Gross said a strong high-pressure system over the northern Caribbean is keeping Joan on its course. Normally, prevailing winds and upper-level atmospheric conditions push tropical storms northward as they move from the Atlantic, said Gross. Also, he said hurricanes are often sapped of strength in the far southern Caribbean due to trade winds that push colder deep-ocean water to the surface, said Gross. Joan became the 10th named storm of the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season when top winds passed 39 mph on Oct. 11. Hurricane strength is 74 mph. Gilbert, the most devastating hurricane in recent years, left more than 300 people dead and caused billions of dollars damage as it tore through Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Mexico's Yucatan peninsula last month. The six-month hurricane season ends Nov. 30.
Mexico churned across the open Caribbean following an unusual, coast-hugging path. Fifty people were reported dead or missing in a town in Colombia. Panama issued a Hurricane Watch for Joan which is the Atlantic Season's fifth hurricane. Joan is expected to leave heavy rains along its path. A strong high pressure system over the northern Caribbean is keeping Joan on its course. Normally winds and atmospheric conditions push northward as they move from the Atlantic. Gilbert, the most devastating Hurricane in recent years, left 300 people dead and caused billions of dollars of damage in Jamaica, Cayman Islands, and Hurricane Joan.