Hurricane Dean is now a category three hurricane with sustained winds of 125 mph and gusts passing 150 mph. As the storm enters some of the warmest ocean waters in the world, and upper level wind shear diminishes to a negligable level - Dean should grow into an absolute monster, rivaling three of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes in recorded history - Hurricane Gilbert (a storm in 1988 with 200 MPH sustained winds, the lowest air pressure in the western hemisphere since 1935), Hurricane Ivan ("Ivan the Terrible", a storm that ruined much of the Carribean and the USA Gulf coast in 2004), and Hurricane Wilma in 2005 (the lowest air pressure in the western hemisphere since Gilbert in 1988).
The above storms had very similar conditions to develop in, and moved at similar speeds, with a similar diameter to Dean. Every six hours for the last 36 hours computer model forecasts have shifted Dean's ferocity higher, and Dean's track slightly northward.
Right now, 1/3 of all computer models show Dean hitting Houston as a Category 5 with sustained winds of 165 MPH.
At the very least, expect a massive hike in oil prices in the coming weeks...
But if I was in Houston, given the flooding from Erin, I'd be terrified. Recent huge hurricanes have hit New Orelans (still recovering from Katrina), Mississippi (Ivan, Katrina), and Mexico (Wilma) quite hard, so expect things to get pretty interesting this weekend into Tuesday evening....
People are difficult to govern because they have too much knowledge.
When there are more laws, there are more criminals.
- Lao Tzu
