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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 |
I should have mentioned (in the Atlantic):
MOST INTENSE ATLANTIC HURRICANES (by pressure)
1 - WILMA - October 2005 882 mb/26.05”
2 - GILBERT - September 1988 888 mb/26.22”
3 - LABOR DAY - September 1935 892 mb/26.35”
4 - RITA - September 2005 895 mb/26.43”
5 - ALLEN - August 1980 899 mb/26.55”
6 - KATRINA - August 2005 902 mb/26.64”
7 - CAMILLE - August 1969 905 mb/26.72”
- MITCH - October-November 1998 905 mb/26.72”
8 - IVAN - September 2004 910 mb/26.87”
9 - JANET - September 1955 914 mb/27.00”
10- WESTERN CUBA - October 1924 915 mb/27.02”
11- OPAL - October 1995 916 mb/27.05”
12- HUGO - September 1989 918 mb/27.11”
- DEAN - August 2007 918 mb/27.11”
13- GLORIA - September 1985 919 mb/27.14”
14- HATTIE - October-November 1961 920 mb/27.17”
- ISABEL - September 2003 920 mb/27.17”
15- FLOYD - September 1999 921 mb/27.20”
16- ANDREW - August 1992 922 mb/27.23”
* The above intensities are not necessarily at the
time of landfall.
** With Hurricane Isabel, the lowest pressure measured
by recon aircraft was 920 mb, however, Isabel is
listed officially with a lowest pressure of 915 mb.
This was estimated based on satellite presentation
a day before the first recon aircraft reached the
hurricane. It may have been even lower than that,
but we’ll never know.
Thanks for posting - I’m distracted and might not have gotten back there to read it.
Prayers up for him - I know we have two local reporters there from diff stations and a natl guy broadcast from there earlier, so he should have lots of media company, as he says.
sw
Wow, I followed every second of Wilma and totally forgot she had beaten Gilbert’s low pressure record. Yikes, I’m getting old. Need to pound that one into my brain!
Thanks for all the info.
I read the other day that there is more energy in one of these systems than the combined military arsenals of the US and Soviet Union.
I think the pop of Chetumal is 170,000 - but they’ll be just south. They are all in shelters now - not allowed to be in homes.
It’s quite rural in teh area for the most part, a few small towns... I think Chetumal is the biggest in the area, not sure the population. Wikipedia says 136,825 people. At current they might be on the south side of the eyewall, which is good considering the bay is next to them... but wind will be a problem either way.
I think he is talking about the SECOND landfall after it crosses the Yucatan. They were predicting it could strengthen back to a Cat 3 earlier. Now that it is a bigger hit on the Y., it is probably going to be much weaker for its second landfall.
I will not say it, I will not say it, I will not say it... LOL
So true - it needs to be memorialized somehow.
I think the pop of Chetumal is 170,000 - but they’ll be just south.
~~~~~~~~~
And 9 jillion flyin’ monkeys...LOL;0)
Have always said Texas should annex Mexico. ;)
Very rough estimate using Google Earth as a source:
Chetumal (somewhat protected by a peninsula) - 136,000
Bacalar (just north of Chetumal, west end of a lake barely inland) - 10,000
Felipe Carrillo Puerto (a bit north of Bacalar, and a bit further inland) - 65,000
I pray the Mexicans got them inland. As Sender noted, there is some height in Chetumal.
They’ll make an estimate. We MIGHT get lucky and have a Hunter get there in the next 7 hours.
This is going to be just awful...
Belize? Or Cancun?
Steve whoooaaaa Harrigan on Fox right now in Cancun
quite a visual there with Steve - wind and surf
I absolutely LOVE Steve...soooo good to see him:)
He did some fantastic work in Iraq too
Cozumel and Cancun are on the dirty side of the storm.
Looks like Telum is directly in the path. I love that beach and the ruins there.
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