HURRICANE DENNIS
NJN WEATHER CENTER
940 AM SAT JULY 9TH 2005
Hurricane Dennis is currently regaining strength in the GOM after a rough night in Cuba. Let's just say Cuba was a little rougher than Dennis thought, dropping him all the way down to a Category 1.
The focus now shifts to Florida and perhaps as far west as Mississippi. As the storm continues to move further North and West, it is sloshing it's storms and feeder bands across Central and South Florida. Numerous reports of tornado touchdowns have been reported across South and West Central Florida {primarily in Tampa}.
Central Florida is under a tornado watch till 4pm ET. The friction caused by the land, combined with the hurricanes rain bands rotating around the center. These rain bands should continue to splash Central Florida until Dennis is out of the picture possibly by late tomorrow.
As for a landfall. A hurricane warning has been issued for the entire panhandle all the way down to the Big Bend area while a Tropical Storm warning is in effect for the rest of the West Coast of Florida except the Keys.
My original landfall prediction of the Big Bend area, has been adjusted to the left. I am not still totally sold on Pensacola landfall, but the storm should make landfall a little to the east of there. But a quick jerk to the left or right may change that.
Dennis may also undergo 1 more rapid intensification phase which could cause him to bomb out a little. But at the same time, he may not because as he gets further North in the GOM.. the waters have been churned up by Arlene and Cindy so they are not as warm, which may actually weaken Dennis some.
Here's my experimental Dennis forecast:
Today: Paralelling Florida. West Coast hoping for no sharp right turn. Max Winds: 115 mph
Sunday: Making landfall sometime during the morning east of Pensacola. Max Winds: 120 mph
Monday: Crossing through Mississippi and Alabama. Max Winds: 60 mph
Tuesday:Becoming Extra tropical in Tennessee or Kentucky. Max Winds: 35 mph
Wednesday:Maybe he'll go see the Reds or Indians. Extra tropical. Max Winds: 25 mph
Check out my smart alec Wednesday line
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The following post is NOT an official forecast and should not be used as such. It is just the opinion of the poster and may or may not be backed by sound meteorological data. It is NOT endorsed by any professional institution including storm2k.org For Official Information please refer to the NHC and NWS products.