DEAN..things to be thankful for...

[TPACane07]

Let's pause for a moment to reflect on what COULD have transpired with Dean in the past six days:

1. The #1 piece to be thankful for..the gigantic high pressure cell that steered Dean W, instead of allowing him to head into GOM, where certain calamity would have occurred.

2. Certainly any loss of life and property damage is bad, and we feel for the areas that were hit. That said, imagine what a 60 mile difference made, as to the areas that were in the proximity of Dean......

3. JAMAICA...missed the core of the storm, Cat 1 damage on South Coast, minimal loss of life. A direct hit would have devastated Kingston, and most of the rest of the islands.

4. CAYMANS...endured winds and surge, minimal impacts

5. MEXICO: Had Dean approached Cancun/Cozumel with same force, that would been "all she wrote" for those resort areas. They are still reeling from Wilma/2005, and this would have been the knockout blow to both. Plus, that path would have given Dean a minimal length of time crossing the Yucatan, and more power to punish Mexico after crossing over GOM again.

So....all that said, this will still be a storm for the ages, surely to be retired, but COULD have been even worse than katrina, if not for friendly Mr. High Pressure covering/protecting the SE US.

[storm4u]

that was well said it could have been alot worse for alot of people.. I think though that was the best track that it could have went!

[HURAKAN]

5. MEXICO: Had Dean approached Cancun/Cozumel with same force, that would been "all she wrote" for those resort areas.

Didn't Cancun come back after the direct impact of more powerful Hurricane Gilbert, 1988? Cancun will always be back, tourism is too important for the local industry to not rebuild the city.

[Agua]

Well said. Our prayers are with all those affected.