After cruising over Cuba, Hurricane Dennis diminished in intensity. That was to be expected. And, it was easy to expect it to regain some strength over the open and warm waters of the Gulf.
What we got was more than expected. Here’s what Dr. Jack Beven, lead forecaster tonight at the Hurricane Center, had to say in his 11:00 PM EDT tech discussion:
AFTER DEEPENING AT A RATE THAT BORDERED ON INSANE DURING THE AFTERNOON…DENNIS HAS CONTINUED TO STRENGTHEN AT A MORE NORMAL RATE THIS EVENING. REPORTS FROM AN AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT SHOW THAT THE CENTRAL PRESSURE HAS FALLEN TO 941MB…WITH MAXIMUM FLIGHT-LEVEL WINDS OF 122 KT IN THE NORTHEAST QUADRANT. BASED ON THIS…THE INITIAL INTENSITY IS 110 KT¹.
I read these all the time. I’ve never seen anything like that before – never. This was the lead forecaster at the Hurricane Center, not some schmo on the street who said, “BORDERED ON INSANE !
¹ – 110 knots is approximately 125 mph (give or take).