Tropical storm Earl was upgraded to a category one hurricane on Wednesday by the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

The hurricane is currently swirling in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, and is expected to make landfall in Belize wither "tonight or early Thursday."

The NHC reports the storm currently has sustained winds of 70 mph and is expected to pour as much as 16 inches of rain on Belize, and eight to 12 inches of rain on B Honduras and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. The sustained rain could cause. The sustained rains could cause life-threatening mudslides and flash floods.

Earl is the first hurricane of the season since it began on June 1.