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Hurricane Dennis gains strength,
slashing through Caribbean
Hurricane Dennis gained strength
and speed overnight as it made
its way through the Caribbean,
becoming the first full-fledged
hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic
season.
Hurricane warnings were posted
for the Cayman Islands, Jamaica,
Haiti and eastern Cuba,
including the U.S. Navy base at
Guantanamo Bay, where some 520
terror suspects are detained,
according to an AP report.
As of 11 p.m. EDT Wednesday, the
center of Dennis, which was
packing maximum sustained winds
of almost 85 mph, was about 245
miles east-southeast of
Kingston, Jamaica, and about 280
miles south-southeast of
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according
to the National Hurricane
Center.
The Hurricane Center's five-day
forecast shows Dennis's center
traveling a path that crosses
over eastern Jamaica, western
Cuba and into the Gulf toward
Louisiana and Alabama by July 9.
Hurricane-force winds extend as
many as 25 miles from the center
and the storm may bring as much
as 12 inches of rain that could
cause flash floods and mud
slides.
Dennis is forecast to intensify
to a Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson
scale, with winds above 111 mph.
A Category 3 hurricane is
capable of destroying mobile
homes, forcing the evacuation of
low-lying areas within several
blocks of the shoreline.
Dennis came right behind
Tropical Storm Cindy, which made
landfall late Tuesday in
Louisiana and hindered oil
production and refining. Traders
said that uncertainty over both
storms helped to push oil prices
to new highs.
Crude oil for August delivery
settled at $61.28 a barrel and
establish a new record on the
New York Mercantile Exchange.
The previous closing high was
$60.54 set June 27.
Last year three hurricanes —
Frances, Ivan and Jeanne — tore
through the Caribbean with a
collective ferocity not seen in
many years, causing hundreds of
deaths and billions of dollars
in damages.
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