Dean = Gilbert

[Sean in New Orleans]

I can't help but believe that this storm is a replica of this classic, powerful, history making storm in 1988. With that said Dean is not, YET, nearly as large as Gilbert:

Gilbert:



Here is Gilbert's Path:



More on Gilbert:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1988gilbert.html

[JtSmarts]

Did close to a straight wnw past from birth. That is remarkable.

[Recurve]

Gilbert, the incredible huge monster, that had the south US terrified of a weakness in the high that would let it curve into Florida or the Gulf. Broke previous record lowest pressure in ATL, passing the Labor Day Hurricane I think until Wilma came along.

Obviously, if a storm like this goes into a major city, unbelievable damage. And wherever it goes, devastation.

Also makes me remember what Mitch did after it had weakened from a monster.

[Ptarmigan]

I still remember Hurricane Gilbert and I was a kid. Caused quite scare for Texas, biggest before Rita. Many people evacuated and schools were closed. Gilbert was the strongest hurricane, even more so than the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane at 888 mb. It was also a monster. Had Gilbert hit the Upper Texas Coast, it would be a total mess, probably worse than Katrina.

[Deputy Van Halen]

I can't help but believe that this storm is a replica of this classic, powerful, history making storm in 1988. With that said Dean is not, YET, nearly as large as Gilbert:

Another big difference compared to Gilbert is that Dean has intensified sooner. Gilbert was a TS when passing the lesser Antilles, and was only getting up to Cat 3 when it got to Jamaica.

In terms of size and intensity, it seems like a better comparison is Dean to Emily (2005). Emily took a slightly more southern path through the Caribbean, but its intensification from TS to hurricane to major was almost a mirror of Dean's.