After lashing the Yucatan Peninsula, tropical storm Arthur has weakened as it neared southeast Mexico. The storm thus is now a tropical depression with maximum sustained winds of around 35 miles per hour. The change has made the governments of Belize and Mexico have discontinued all warnings related to the first tropical storm of the 2008 season, which in fact started today.

Arthur is expected to move west across the coastline of the Bay of Campeche over the next two days, said the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

Tropical Storm Arthur formed Saturday near the coast of Belize, heading for the mainland. The upcoming hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin will be above normal this year, and residents in areas usually affected by them should be prepared.

Tropical cyclones have been responsible for killing millions of people and causing significant property damage. Hurricane Katrina killed over 1,800 people in the U.S. and cause damage estimated at $100 billion. According to a study published by meteorologist Tom Knutson, global warming could diminish the number of hurricanes by the end of the century, however, they will be approximately 2 percent more intense.

Knutson’s study could provide yet another proof in some scientists’ theories that hurricane activity can be described by time cycle which alternates periods of time with low activity with others when hurricanes tend to form more often.