Hurricane Dean makes landfall as a dangerous Cat. 5

400 AM CDT...CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE DEAN MAKES LANDFALL ON THE EAST COAST OF THE YUCATAN PENINSULA OF MEXICO... MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...165 MPH. THE HURRICANE HUNTER PLANE REPORTED A MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE OF 906 MB...26.75 INCHES...JUST BEFORE LANDFALL. STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 12 TO 18 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS.

It has been a rough night and morning for those on the Yucatan Peninsula. Last night, we witnessed a rapid intensification of a landfalling category 5 hurricane. Just before landfall, windspeeds were recorded to be sustained at 165mph with a minimum pressure of 906mb, making Hurricane Dean the 3rd most intense hurricane to make landfall in the Atlantic Basin. Not since Hurricane Andrew in 1992 have we seen a category 5 make landfall, and I have seen pictures of what Andrew did to Homestead, FL. I have seen what type of catastrophic damage that force is capable of... I am confident that much of Dean's path was rendered unrecognizable.

As Hurricane Dean continues to pass over the rest of the peninsula, he still maintains major hurricane status, offering sustained winds at 125mph, minimum pressure of 935mb, a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. It is safe to say that Dean as a tropical cyclone name is ready for retirement. When Hurricane Dean emerges back into the GOM, he will most likely be a minimal hurricane having fought a long, hard, depleting battle across the Yucatan Peninsula, so it is unlikely that the Eastern Gulf Coast of Mexico will be hit hard.

Invest 92L, Northeast of the Leeward Islands, East of Florida, is expected to develop slowly, if at all. It doesn't look impressive to me. Even the NRL has removed it from their page.

I took this picture yesterday during my lunch hour. I was struck by the crisp blue sky. This is pretty accurate to the color I saw. It was beautiful, and scattered blankets of fair weather cumulus were painted across the sky. It wasn't incredibly hot; it was beautiful! I succeeded in edging my yard, but I ran out of time to weed eat, so I will do that this afternoon... Soon, my yard will be beautimus.... even if the forecast says:

A VERY HOT DAY IS ON TAP FOR THE REGION. HIGH TEMPERATURES TODAY WILL TOP OUT AT BETWEEN 97 AND 101 DEGREES AT MOST LOCATIONS AWAY FROM THE COAST. HEAT INDICES WILL RANGE FROM 105 TO 109 DEGREES.

...and that about sums up local weather... Cool thing is that Mini-Dew is learning about climate in school. She is proudly boasting to her class that her mother is a storm chaser, which somehow makes Mini-Dew think she is a weather expert. lol

Oh, and here is a press release about the show!!!

Ciao,
~Dewdrop