Hurricane Isolates Island, Hits Yucatan Peninsula -- Cozumel Hit; Roxanne Weakens

CANCUN, Mexico - After bashing the resort island of Cozumel, a weakening Hurricane Roxanne today plowed into the tropical lowlands of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

Forecasters warned that the storm was expected to pick up strength when it emerges on the west side of the peninsula and reaches the Gulf of Mexico later today.

Bill Frederick of the U.S. hurricane center in Miami said Roxanne will likely continue its westward course, meaning the storm could hit Mexico again, this time on the southwestern rim of the gulf. Ports remained closed along Mexico's southern Gulf coast.

A turn north could take Roxanne up the gulf toward Texas and Louisiana. But with the storm still hundreds of miles away, there was no immediate threat to the southern United States.

Some 10,000 tourists had been evacuated from beachfront hotels in Cancun, a resort city near the Yucatan's northeastern tip, as Roxanne approached.

But the storm roared by to the south, and within hours, buses were hauling them back. Shopkeepers removed boards from windows, and some restaurants reopened. Aside from a few broken windows, there was little apparent damage.

Cozumel, however, was directly in the hurricane's path when it hit with 110 mph winds.

It was unclear just how much damage may have been done on the Caribbean island, whose coral reefs and luxury hotels attract tourists worldwide. At daylight, 12 hours after the storm struck, police and rescue officials said radio and phone communications were still out.

Roxanne, the 10th hurricane of the busy Atlantic storm season, could be one of the worst storms to hit the peninsula since Hurricane Gilbert swept through the Caribbean in 1989, killing 300 people.

The storm was crossing central Yucatan, 75 miles southeast of Merida, at about 9 mph. The U.S. weather service said sustained winds had slipped to 75 mph this morning.

The hurricane hit the mainland near the famed Mayan ruins of Tulum and was heading west across a flat, jungle terrain sparsely populated with Mayan villages.

"We expect further weakening until it enters the Gulf of Mexico later this afternoon or tonight," Frederick said.