Hurricane Dean continued to strengthen Thursday and it appears now that the computer models are beginning to hone in on the future track of the powerful storm.

Dean should cross the Windward Islands and Lesser Antilles Friday as a stong Category 2 storm, with winds between 100-110 mph. Some of the resort islands like Martinique may suffer substantial damage as the hurricane whips across the island chain.


After the islands, Dean should continue on a west-west/northwest track to just south of Jamaica Sunday with sustained winds of 120 mph or more. Next in line will be the Yucatan peninsula on Tuesday, with the storm possibly making landfall as a category 4 storm near Cozumel, Mexico.

After a short ride over the Yucatan, Dean should re-emerge in the Gulf of Mexico and continue re-organize itself before making a final landfall somewhere in the Gulf Coast, most likely Southern Texas.

Personally, I am not convinced that the computer models are doing to well dealing with Dean's rapid speed (on Thursday night it was traveling west at 25 mph), and the progression of the upper-level ridge in the northern Atlantic. As such, I think that Dean may head a little further north than indicated, and anyone west of the Alabama coast are game. None the less, it appears likely that a strong hurricane will potentially impact the Gulf Coast next Thursday or so.