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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.
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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 |
Just saw a little more upclose imagery and it’s still looking like MonkeyLand to me - north of Chetumal and south of Tulum.
That may be my wishful thinking making my eyes play tricks on me, but our local TV met specifically said “we’ve had a lot of calls about Ambergris Caye and it looks like they will be spared, on the clean side, but will just have high wave action.”
They have a reporter on the ground in Chetumal, so I’ll keep y’all updated when they have him on.
Chetumal, on the other hand, is probably hosed. They got drilled by another Cat 5 (Janet) fifty years ago. So you've got a city of 135,000 people that is in harm's way, but that's better than a direct hit further north on the tourist areas.
A few days ago, I posted that Dean was going to hose someone, so all we can hope for is for him to take the path of least hosing. So far he's doing mostly that - he spared Jamaica and the Caymans from a direct hit, and is headed for probably the least damaging (from an economic and human life viewpoint) place to make landfall on the Yucatan. Plus, going over the Yucatan will cut him back down below major hurricane level, which means second landfall won't be as bad. If Dean had missed Yucatan and gone into the Gulf withoug passing over land, well, woof...
TANKS for the new thread,,,
Atlantic Floater 1 still shows the general WNW track,,,
Dr. Steve Lyons over on TWC agrees with the MonkeyLand hit.
Yea, it looks like Tulum and Cozumel, which are a little south of Cancun are right in the path. I’ve been there many times and always hate this.
Oh, yes, that 1955 storm got its name retired - the reason I don’t ever have to worry about being teased as a hurricane. And I remember it!
Didn’t know about Chetumal at the time, but have become intimately familiar with the area over the years since. Thanks for that tidbit to add to my hurri-lore I often tell.
Great news if that holds.
Good, good, good!
Dean is at 918 - not much of a drop to match those two. There have been a LOT of bad hurricanes in that neck of the woods - Wilma, Gilbert, Mitch, Allen, Janet and now Dean.
For awhile there, it looked like this would be our SECOND vacation that had to be cancelled due to a hurricane. We are scheduled for a week in Playa del Carmen in late September. Still not out of the woods, but this was one bullet we dodged.
Just not TOO much of a right turn for Cozumel's sake.
I worried myself sick about a friend in Coz 2 years ago with the earlier of the 2 canes - and she came thru it without batting an eye. (And I freaked totally out over *my own* near-miss in Rita, lol.) I’ve learned that in many cases, Coz does just fine and gets right back up in no time.
Now, I haven’t been there in the intervening years, nor to Cancun, so I haven’t *seen* all the rebuilding with my own two eyes. I can only *assume* each new construction is sturdier than what went down.
IOW, I pray, but don’t worry myself sick like before. OTOH, for Belize, I always do. The little cayes can be totally inundated.
*threading the needle*
Yep. Hoping it stays a bit south. Those Mayan ruins at Tulum are fascinating. Amazing ocean view from them.
Mmmmm, monkey tastes good!
Do you dive or snorkel? I’ve always wondered what a place like XelHa or the other parks look like underwater *after* a strong storm.
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