Category 5?

[clfenwi]

Sorry but on 28.8 phone line here.Looks to me like CDO is starting to build back and eye is starting to shrink.Or am I blind in one and cant see out?

Nope, it looks to me your vision is just fine. I have a 12 hour loop running and the eye starts getting noticably smaller after 0633Z or so...

[soonertwister]

Another 10 mb and it's almost certain cat-5 has been reached.

Dennis is going to be a train wreck wherever he hits.

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

The deep reds have formed all the way around the eye. Look at the banding it has turned into a chain saw look...This thing is going for it.

[Normandy]

What a shock it would be....America wakes up to the news of "Category 5 hurricane heads towards Gulf Coast"....still dont think itll happen...hope it doesnt.

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

Its starting to look like one....

[Normandy]

When it gets below 930 ill start to worry.

[Stratusxpeye]

Def is starting to look like one. All i keep hearing is how hes tightening and only things that are positive to enforce a cat 5 status. I think he wont give up until he recieves this status.

[MBismyPlayground]

What a shock it would be....America wakes up to the news of "Category 5 hurricane heads towards Gulf Coast"....still dont think itll happen...hope it doesnt.

You know what amazes me??? There are actually people who don't even know that there is a storm out there. We had friends come in from PA and they were clueless......."What storm??"

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

I heard people talking about how the Gulf was unfavable for development of strong cat4s or cat5s. Look at this now!!! In its an JULY!!!

[crazycajuncane]

The best news of the night is that 145 mph winds have not increased and pressure dropped just 2 MB. It's good to know it didn't hit 150... it seemed every update it's gone up 10 mph per and pressures have dropped 5 MB every 2 hours. It even freaked Bonnie out at 2 am. She had to go adjust her numbers lol.

[soonertwister]

Everything is possible, til it ain't........And so far the word "ain't" isn't playing into this.......Just a question for those of you who would know.....if this does end up going into CAT 5 Status, how far inland will the MAJOR damage be??? Even at a CAT 4???(mile wise)

Near total devastation within 5-10 miles of the coast, major devastation within 30-50 miles. Well-built structures destroyed in isolated cases as much as 100 miles inland.

Farther inland, Dennis is forecast to stall or nearly so. Add torrential interior rainfall over mountainous terrain in the watersheds of major rivers, with the resultant mudslides, flash flooding, possible breached reservoirs on major rivers.

This is no "coastal" event.

[MBismyPlayground]

Everything is possible, til it ain't........And so far the word "ain't" isn't playing into this.......Just a question for those of you who would know.....if this does end up going into CAT 5 Status, how far inland will the MAJOR damage be??? Even at a CAT 4???(mile wise)

Near total devastation within 5-10 miles of the coast, major devastation within 30-50 miles. Well-built structures destroyed in isolated cases as much as 100 miles inland.

Farther inland, Dennis is forecast to stall or nearly so. Add torrential interior rainfall over mountainous terrain in the watersheds of major rivers, with the resultant mudslides, flash flooding, possible breached reservoirs on major rivers.

This is no "coastal" event.

Sooner, Thanks so much for the info. I figured as much but needed verification on it. I guess my friends in Fair Hope and Bay Minnette can kiss it all good bye

[soonertwister]

Sooner, Thanks so much for the info. I figured as much but needed verification on it. I guess my friends in Fair Hope and Bay Minnette can kiss it all good bye

Location of landfall is critical. Dennis is not a large hurricane, regardless of ultimate strength. Areas 30 miles west or 75 miles east of landfall may have relatively much lesser effect, except that those to the east near the coast will be in major danger from storm surge.

Hurricanes can generate many tornadoes, so people within a couple hundred miles are at some measurable risk from those. But the principal impacts along the coast will be reasonably close to the center of the hurricane. Inland is hard to predict. If Dennis stalls over the southern Appalachians, there could be terrible consequences that affect hundreds of thousands of people.

[southerngreen]

anybody remember when high tide is in the target area?

[Eyes2theSkies]

CNN says that high tide in the "strike zone" is around midday

[Stratusxpeye]

Anyone still have thoughs of this reaching category 5?

[Anonymous]

Anyone still have thoughs of this reaching category 5?

Yes. The eyewall replacement cycle appears to be beginning. This should keep it at 125-130 kt...but I fear that by 11am AT MOST it will be done with the ERC and strengthening could resume until landfall.

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

By the way its looking now I think boader line cat5...150 to 155 mph.

[yoda]

Anyone still have thoughs of this reaching category 5?

I don't think so... I think the hurricane is about done and should move in with winds of 145 mph IMO.

[wxwatcher91]

here's a site someone posted earlier and just throught I'd bring it back up... just a little food for thought when thinking about a possible cat 5...

http://www.maineharbors.com/weather/seatemp4.htm

I'm not sure, but I'm not ruling it out yet