Hurricane Dean

Hurricane Dean is now a Category 4 Storm and drawing a bead on Jamaica. By the time it reaches Jamaica, it could very well be a Category 5 Storm. With Dean's forecast track putting it in the Gulf of Mexico next week, NASA will be bringing the Endeavour back a day early in case there are evacuations in Houston (where Mission Control is). The Hurricane Watch net on 14.325 USB has been active over the last couple of days as Dean approached the Caribbean

Dean is also a very large storm, as seen in the IR satellite image below. Hurricane force winds extend out 70 miles from the center of the storm. Tropical Storm force winds extend out 230 miles from the center of the storm.

This is definitely a time to keep the people of Jamaica in our prayers.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

TS Dean Heading for the Gulf of Mexico

For now, it looks like the coastal Georgia area can breathe easier. It appears that Tropical Storm Dean will be heading for the Gulf of Mexico rather than turning more northerly towards the coast. We're still not out of the woods yet. Things are looking better, but it would still be prudent to watch the forecast for Dean over the next few days.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Tropical Storm Dean

The first tropical storm we really need to keep our eyes on has developed in the Atlantic. Tropical Storm Dean is currently in the Atlantic Ocean and is forecast to be in the Caribbean Sea by Sunday. Here is the latest predicted track from the US Navy's NAVMETOCCEN:

According to the Crown Weather Services: "As for next week, the fact that many of the models are trending towards a brush with or landfall on the US East Coast is troubling and this is something to keep a very close eye on."

This storm is not something to worry about now, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to start thinking and planning ahead should it come our way. It would be a very good idea to start keeping good tabs on the predictions the end of this week and during the weekend. As far as the radio monitoring and scanning end of things, check out one of the Key Klix articles I posted earlier this year: Hurricane Monitoring - 2007.