Surging Storm

Update Monday 6pmPST--Hurricane Dean is now a category 5 storm, with winds gusting up to 190 mph.

Hurricane Dean only brushed Jamaica, though much of the island experienced force 2 winds and electricity was out, leaving a billion dollars worth of damage. Today it is gathering strength over very warm water and seems headed to becoming a category 5 storm again. Initial landfall is expected in a relatively sparsely populated area of Mexico north of Belize, but a second pass could take it into more populated areas.

Meanwhile the U.S. mainland is mainly hot. Storm remnants caused flooding in various places over the weekend, and 6 people dead in Oklahoma.