Major Hurricane Dean

Hurricane Dean is now a Category 4 storm.  Winds have increased to 150mph, and Dean is expected to reach Cat 5 strength before reaching the northern most part of the Yucatan. 

 

As of 5pm:

Location:  16.1N, 70.2W....about 455 miles ESE of Kingston, Jamaica.

Movement:  WNW @ 18mph

Max Winds:  150mph

Minimum pressure:  930mb

 

For the past few days, models have continued to indicate that Dean will interact with the Yucatan and will weaken before moving into the Gulf.  As of now, the main concern for a U.S. landfall is around Brownsville, Texas.  There is still a margin of error that could take the storm either north or south a couple hundred miles.  If Dean moves just a few miles north over the next few days, he may not interact at all with the Yucatan peninsula and would likely maintain major hurricane strength as he moves into the Gulf.  This is still yet to be seen, but will be monitored over the next couple of days.  The only thing that hasn't changed is the time period for landfall, which will be around Thursday of this coming week.