Your Cruise Your Way Cruise Blog

The center of Powerful Hurricane Dean is now just 150 miles away from Kingston, Jamaica however its outer rain bands are already brushing the Caribbean island. As it closes in on Jamaica, Dean is passing just south of Haiti whipping the country with tropical squalls of heavy, flooding rains and tropical storm force wind gusts with an occasional hurricane-force gust.
As Hurricane Dean heads west-northwest, the northern end of its eyewall will likely strike a destructive blow to Jamaica later this afternoon. Rainfall amounts will be in the 5 to 10 inch range with some areas receiving as much as 20 inches. The heavy rains will lead to life-threatening mudslides.

Dean could be the strongest hurricane to strike Jamaica since 1950: stronger than Hurricane Gilbert in 1988 which was a category three when it crossed the island from end to end.
After Jamaica, Dean’s forecast track takes the powerful hurricane south of the island of Grand Cayman on Monday. Although not a direct hit, the Cayman Islands will deal with battering waves, high surge, and rainfall amounts on the order of 4 to 8 inches with some totals nearing a foot of rain.
By Monday night and Tuesday, the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico will feel impacts from Hurricane Dean. Resort areas of Cancun and Cozumel should be prepared for this powerful hurricane.
Numerous hurricane and tropical storm watches and warnings are in place for the various Caribbean islands including a hurricane warning for Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
Remember that watches mean that conditions are possible within 36 hours; warnings mean that conditions are expected within 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the book has not been closed on Tropical Depression Erin. After drenching Texas from the Gulf Coast to the Texas Hill Country to the Panhandle during the latter half of last week, a re-energized Erin has unleashed even more tropical downpours as it treks slowly over Oklahoma.
During a 6 to 12 hour period from late Saturday night through Sunday morning, tremendous rainfall amounts of 5 to 10 inches fell over the west-central part of the state.
The center of TD Erin then drifted to the east right over Oklahoma City during the mid-morning hours producing flooding rains and winds gusts between 50 and 60 mph across the capital city. Erin is now heading east towards Arkansas.