Cat 5 Dean Slams Mexico - 1st Since Andrew
UPDATE 4 PM: Dean fought the Yucatan, and nearly lost. He was taken down from a record Cat 5 storm to a mere Cat 1 by "The Yucatan Challenge," before emerging into the Bay of Campeche.
ORIGINAL POST:
The NWS offers some historical perspective for Dean's landfall in a statement issued this morning (archived here):
What they are saying is that Dean slammed into the Yucatan Peninsula with 167 mph winds. Incredible. Other Category 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic basin are listed here, including Katrina, Rita and Wilma, which I have blogged about before.
Weather observations have been unimpressive because it hit between weather stations. Cancun gusted to 47 knots and Cozumel and Chetumal were out of service (see links below). The storm didn't look great on the Cancun radar because it was pretty far south, but you could see the eye come on shore:
The waves down there are impressive, my television tells me, and although there are no official stations there to measure their height, the latest WaveWatch Forecast Model [JessePedia] map estimate for the current time shows waves at 18-21 feet onshore:
So where's Dean headed now? Here's a look at this morning's Model Spread [JessePedia]:
*If Dean crosses over Mexico from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the storm's name will not change (Hurricane FAQ).
**Just kidding. A hurricane couldn't hit Missouri, however this is where the remnant circulation of the storm could end up, according to that particular model. As Oklahoma proved earlier this week, that can mean heavy rain far inland.
Eyewitness reports from : Mexico
OBS: | Cancun (Mexico) | Chetumal | Buoy 42056
*The following webcams were found in the area but were out of service: Cancun 2 | Cozumel 1 | Cozumel 2 | Cozumel 3 | Mahahual | Playa Del Carmen | Akumal
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