Dean’s a Hurricane

Tropical storm Dean has been upgraded to hurricane status.

AT 500 AM AST…0900Z…THE CENTER OF HURRICANE DEAN WAS LOCATED
NEAR LATITUDE 13.4 NORTH…LONGITUDE 52.3 WEST OR ABOUT 485 MILES…
780 KM…EAST OF BARBADOS AND ABOUT 590 MILES…950 KM…EAST OF
MARTINIQUE.

DEAN IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST NEAR 24 MPH…39 KM/HR…AND THIS
MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS. THIS MOTION
SHOULD BRING THE CENTER OF DEAN NEAR THE LESSER ANTILLES ON FRIDAY.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 75 MPH…120 KM/HR…WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. DEAN IS A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON
SCALE. ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24
HOURS. AN AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT WILL
INVESTIGATE DEAN THIS AFTERNOON.

The current forecast track has it moving south of Florida, but here in the Sunshine State we do keep our eyes on these things.

8am Update: The new coordinates – 13.5N/53.3W Max winds have increased to 80mph and the internal pressure is 985mb

Tweet