Hurricane Dean Chase Intercept Jamaica Underway

This is a archive story and the latest on Hurricane Dean News can be found on the front page of the site.

Live Hurricane Dean Kingston Jamaica Storm Chaser Coverage

Hurricane Chasing - Major Hurricane Dean Chase Intercept Underway In Kingston, Jamaica August 2007

Chasing Major Hurricane Dean - By ExtremeStorms.com

For those of you that might be new to this hurricane chasing blog, myself along with several others, chase and intercept hurricanes for a living, mostly in the United States (archives). One of my fellow Hurricane Chaser partners and very good friend Jim Edds is currently on location in Kingston, Jamaica for the chase intercept of Major Hurricane Dean. Jim flew into Jamaica Friday to get ready for Dean’s strike on the island. He drove early Saturday morning from Montego Bay through the tropical mountains and arrived in Kingston early this afternoon.

Jim will be filming Hurricane Dean at landfall, as long as Dean stays on the current forecast track. Jim has been scouting area’s along the waterfront district and downtown area’s of Kingston all day for shooting locations and for safety from this strong category 4 hurricane. I have spoken with him several times today ever few hours checking in on his status and now-casting for him on the latest with Dean’s current location, pressure and winds. It won’t be long before the first winds and outer bands of Dean start to move in over the island overnight and early in the morning Sunday. The worst of Dean’s winds and surge are expected late morning into early afternoon over much of Jamaica.

Hurricane Storm Chaser Dean Coverage - Kingston Jamaica

Jim will be updating me this evening with some pre-storm videos and pictures from Kingston, Jamaica, and these updates will continue through the landfall and aftermath of the storm. As long as communication between Jim and I are up, I should receive new images from the storm before, during and after. I will update frequently once Dean starts to affect the island and new video and pictures start feeding in from Jim. (note: the latest updates from Jim will be posted on the front page of the site)

Eye Location of Dean Is Important When Chasing Hurricanes

Hurricane Dean’s eyewall location near or over the island will make a huge difference in what Jim will encounter for winds and surge. If the eye tracks more north of the island along the northern coast, Jim will experience more of the southern eyewall and strong winds from the southerly direction. If the eye makes a direct landfall on the eastern shore of Jamaica and/or tracks along the south coast, Jim will likely feel much stronger winds of the northern right front quadrant eyewall where the strongest winds of Major Hurricane Dean is found. These winds would start from a northeast, to a due east, and then southeasterly direction. This would also produce much larger storm surge heights in the Kingston and surrounding area’s. So, it’s all about where the inner eye will track when chasing hurricanes. By first light tomorrow morning we should have a good idea where the eye should track near or over Jamaica.

So, everyone stay tuned to this hurricane chasing blog for updates from Jamaica over the next 24-48 hours as Major Hurricane Dean, now a strong category 4 with winds of 150 nears the island, and Storm Chaser Videographer Jim Edds stands by for the worst. Be sure to check the front page of the site for the most update-to-date reports on the chase.

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