Dean Makes Landfall
Hurricane Dean was that rare Category 5 storm when it made landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula on Tuesday morning. Sustained winds were 165 mph with gusts even higher. It had the 3rd lowest pressure of a land falling hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin.
Yet, it wasn't as deadly as other Category 5 storms in the past. There are a few reasons for that. The storm, while a killer in Jamaica and Hispaniola, stayed just off the south coast of Jamaica and offshore of Hispaniola. When it did come ashore in Mexico, it missed the heavily developed tourist areas on Cancun and Cozumel. The areas north of Chetumal are lightly populated and Mexican authorities warnings were well listened to.
Flooding rains inland is also another concern with tropical systems, but Dean moved across the Yucatan in about 12 hours, and that really cut down on rain totals. Unfortunately, Dean may bring life threatening floods to Mexico as Dean dies in the mountains.
Yet, it wasn't as deadly as other Category 5 storms in the past. There are a few reasons for that. The storm, while a killer in Jamaica and Hispaniola, stayed just off the south coast of Jamaica and offshore of Hispaniola. When it did come ashore in Mexico, it missed the heavily developed tourist areas on Cancun and Cozumel. The areas north of Chetumal are lightly populated and Mexican authorities warnings were well listened to.
Flooding rains inland is also another concern with tropical systems, but Dean moved across the Yucatan in about 12 hours, and that really cut down on rain totals. Unfortunately, Dean may bring life threatening floods to Mexico as Dean dies in the mountains.
posted by Howard Bernstein, 9 Weather Now at
4:49 PM
1 Comments:
What's really interesting is that if you calculate distance from time and posted speeds this thing has been trucking for over 5000 miles - quite a long life for a weather phenomena.
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