Closing In

Hurricane Dean continues to bear down on Jamaica and the Grand Caymans as a strong Category 4 storm. Damage from such a storm will be severe.

Hurricane Dean barreled across the eastern Caribbean Saturday and took aim at Hispaniola, Jamaica and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, with forecasters saying it could turn into a monster Category 5 storm within 72 hours.

With sustained winds near 150 mph, Dean left behind floods, debris and at least three deaths on the islands of St. Lucia, Martinique and Dominica on Friday.

The first hurricane of the Atlantic season, the Category 4 Dean was expected to gain power as it moves across the warm waters of the Caribbean through the weekend. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said its winds could surpass 155 mph as it approaches the Yucatan Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico on Monday.

Scientists rely on a variety of models to predict where tropical storms will hit, and here's background on those models. Those models are all trending towards a hit on Mexico, with one outlier pushing towards the Gulf Coast. However, the physical size of the storm continues to grow, so the wind field of tropical force winds or higher are growing as well. Even if the storm tracks into Mexico, Texas could definitely feel the effects of the storm, including heavy rains, which is the last thing that Texas needs considering the pounding rains and flooding due to Tropical Storm Erin.

As always, check with Brendan Loy for more on the hurricane blogging.