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Posted on 08/20/2007 8:12:21 AM PDT by NautiNurse
Extremely dangerous Hurricane Dean is steaming toward the Yucatan Peninsula today, packing winds over 150 mph. The Hurricane Hunter aircraft aborted its mission Monday morning due to equipment problems. The storm is expected to attain catastrophic Category 5 status today. The Cayman Islands have been spared the brunt of the storm's winds as Dean passed 125 miles south of Grand Cayman.
Jamaica continues to assess damage to its infrastructure after Dean uprooted trees, knocked down power lines, stripped off roofs, and dumped up to 20 inches of rain, causing mudslides in the mountains. The government of Jamaica has declared a month-long state of emergency. Haiti has reported four fatalities. The Dominican Republic reported a 20ft storm surge. Martinique lost its banana crops. Additional details are scarce at this point due to extensive power outages.
Alcoa suspended aluminum production in Jamaica. Mexico evacuated thousands of workers from oil platforms. Texas mobilized the National Guard, opened emergency operations centers and moved inmates inland from three prisons in advance of the storm.
Space shuttle Endeavour is returning home Tuesday, a day early due to Hurricane Dean.
In other storm news, the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin caused massive rains and flooding in Oklahoma Sunday. Two people have drowned, and three are reported missing at this time.
Public Advisories Updated every three hours.
Tropical Storm Discussion Updated every six hours
Storm Track Archive Nice animated progression of 5 day forecast tracks
Buoy Data Western Gulf of Mexico
Buoy Data West Caribbean
Storm Surge graphic
Satellite Images
Cancun Radar Caution- very prone to overload with high traffic
Additional Resources:
Central Florida Hurricane Center
Hurricane City
Cayman One Radio Nice music mix, and hourly news
Hurricane Dean Thread II
Hurricane Dean Thread I
Category | Wind Speed | Barometric Pressure | Storm Surge | Damage Potential |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tropical Depression |
< 39 mph < 34 kts |
Minimal | ||
Tropical Storm |
39 - 73 mph 34 - 63 kts |
Minimal | ||
Hurricane 1 (Weak) |
74 - 95 mph 64 - 82 kts |
28.94" or more 980.02 mb or more |
4.0' - 5.0' 1.2 m - 1.5 m |
Minimal damage to vegetation |
Hurricane 2 (Moderate) |
96 - 110 mph 83 - 95 kts |
28.50" - 28.93" 965.12 mb - 979.68 mb |
6.0' - 8.0' 1.8 m - 2.4 m |
Moderate damage to houses |
Hurricane 3 (Strong) |
111 - 130 mph 96 - 112 kts |
27.91" - 28.49" 945.14 mb - 964.78 mb |
9.0' - 12.0' 2.7 m - 3.7 m |
Extensive damage to small buildings |
Hurricane 4 (Very strong) |
131 - 155 mph 113 - 135 kts |
27.17" - 27.90" 920.08 mb - 944.80 mb |
13.0' - 18.0' 3.9 m - 5.5 m |
Extreme structural damage |
Hurricane 5 (Devastating) |
Greater than 155 mph Greater than 135 kts |
Less than 27.17" Less than 920.08 mb |
Greater than 18.0' Greater than 5.5m |
Catastrophic building failures possible |
Our men, anyway:’)
The fear we saw could be from “what have I done?”
What was the odd BP stat.. oh you mean border patrol, I was thinking British Petroleum. If big oil gets spooked, time to throw out all the models - which should be updated in 20 mins or so.
I’ve been reading local forums and someone asked if the Cancun airport would be open on Wednesday since he wanted to head down for his scheduled vacation. On a personal level - it wouldn't’t be a safe or convenient vacation, but to be considerate I would give the locals a little time to use their resources for themselves and not concentrate on a tourist just yet. Just amazes me.
LOL!
19 others stopped near the Marquesas Keys
BY BECKY IANNOTTA
Key West Citizen Staff
First there were shouts of jubilation coming from the beach. Then a couple men, clothes dripping wet, ran down the concrete steps from Smathers Beach to the sidewalk. Then a couple more, and then more.
"America? America?" one asked Key West resident Phyllis May. "I said, 'Yes, this is America,'" May said Sunday. "They just got down and kissed the ground. .... Until somebody told them it was America, they just didn't want to believe it."
The men were among 27 Cubans who stepped ashore at Smathers Beach at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday as May pedaled her bike along the popular beachside path.
The 17 men, two boys and eight women were all reportedly in good health when Key West police officers arrived moments after the Cubans were dropped off by a light blue speed boat that fled the scene, Christie Phillips, spokeswoman for the Key West Police Department said in a press release.
The group told authorities they left Cuba at 2 a.m. and encountered rough seas. Most were soaking wet, and some of them were dehydrated from seasickness, Phillips said.
Officers gave the refugees water and food from McDonalds, and Key West firefighters gave them T-shirts.
Under the U.S. wet-foot, dry-foot policy, Cubans who make it to American soil are allowed to stay in the United States, while those stopped at sea are returned to Cuba.
That explains the early morning shoreside celebration, which took a few minutes for May to comprehend.
"[At first] I thought whoa, somebody's really having an early morning exuberating experience," she said, adding that she finally realized what had happened when they started asking about America and kissing the ground. "It was something that I thought I'd never see, but it was just heart-wrenching."
The Cubans were being held at the Monroe County Detention Center while U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents traveled from Miami to take custody of them. The U.S. Coast and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were on the lookout Sunday for the speed boat that shuttled the Cubans across the Florida Straits to Key West.
Another group of Cubans was stopped at sea near the Marquesas Keys, about 22 miles west of Key West after the Cuban government alerted the U.S. Coast Guard of a possible migrant crossing at 4:30 a.m. Friday, according to a Sheriff's Office report. The Coast Guard located the boat and activated lights and siren to try to stop it, but the driver of the 33-foot 2007 Avanti with twin 275 horsepower Mercury engines refused to stop, Detective Paul Schultz said in the report.
Several times during the pursuit the alleged smuggler drove at speeds reaching 45 knots and attempted to ram the Coast Guard vessel, one time actually hitting it, according to the report.
Because of the extreme danger to both the passengers on the fleeing boat and the crew on the Coast Guard vessel, Schultz said the Coast Guard had to fire a weapon into the starboard engine of the speed boat to bring it to a stop. The 19 Cuban migrants and alleged smugglers Yudel Armada, 26, of Hialeah and 23-year-old Dariel Sanchez of Homestead were taken to the Coast Guard station in Key West. None of them was injured.
The Sheriff's Office was notified and Schultz arrested Armada and Sanchez on charges of fleeing and eluding police, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and reckless operation of a vessel. They were booked into the Monroe County Detention Center on Stock Island.
Schultz said the Coast Guard took custody of the 19 Cuban migrants, who are likely to be repatriated to Cuba because they did not make it to American soil.
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They don’t have to worry about selling alcohol...the locals have their own stash! Everybody party!
“and Key West firefighters gave them T-shirts.”
that just sounds wrong
Yes. We admitted a lot of Nicaraguan and Guatemalan refugees after Hurricane Mitch went through in the late 90’s. Even though we opened wide our doors for them to come in legally, many of them came “without papers” and are still here.
Wow—the chase scene description rivals most episodes of Miami Vice.
Sure wish I had pictures of this happy event to show the Lefties that I encounter. They can never explain to me why people would risk their lives and react this way if America were the evil place the Left portrays it to be. Nor have I ever had a taker on the offer of a one way ticket to that bastion of Communist utopia called Cuba.
Sure sad that the others were intercepted. I’d give them asylum. Anyone who wants to get out of Cuba would get a pass from me.
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I can't imagine the sleigh ride they took crossing with Dean in the area.
What a chance to take just to leave the Worker's Paradise behind
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Saw National Guard trucks headed south on Hwy 77 this morning. Could we be assisting/invading Mexico?
Thanks for the article & photo. It’s wonderful to see foreigners who ‘love’ our country. I pray they have a bright and successful future.
Any idea what’s up with all this?
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