Category FIVE – Dean

Major Hurricane Dean has attained Category Five status with sustained winds at 160mph, and is expected to strengthen further before making landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Conditions have rapidly deteriorated, and this system could become one of the strongest landfalling storms on record at the point of landfall. The Buoy at http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=42056 is reporting 35 foot waves, much higher than a typical single tsunami event.

To put this in perspective, lets review a deadly F3 tornado’s impact:

F3
Severe tornado
158-206 mph
Roof and some walls torn off well constructed houses; trains overturned; most trees in forest uprooted

Now, most tornados last around 30 seconds. Imagine this impact for over 3 hours, up to 12+ hours. While you have that firmly in mind, add a massive, unrelenting push of water, ultimately raising the water levels by up to 20+ feet. Once you have that firmly in mind, add spin off tornados, while all the rest is going on. One more to add, think about all of that then drop 20 inches of rain per hour.

It is a truly devastating scenario.

Elsewhere in the tropics, Invest 92L continues to look disorganized, but conditions are favorable for some slow development. This system has more potential to pose a threat to the United States than Major Hurricane Dean, however, the intensity of this system should be much less. At the time of this writing, whatever Invest 92L becomes, it appears to be aiming for the United States.