Bill Karins, Meteorologist

Dean put on quite a show the past two weeks. I actually started to track Dean as he was just a large cluster of thunderstorms over Central Africa. I don't know if I've ever tracked a more well-behaved hurricane. The only surprise Dean ever made was a 30 mile Southeast jog the day before brushing Jamaica. This wobble actually spared the island from the eye wall.

NEWS: Dean Weakens | Photos

AP: Some of the devastation Hurricane Dean caused in Mexico

I still have no clue how Ivan and Dean both wobbled around the island instead of a direct hit. A weather producer that I won't name here thinks they turn on an anti-hurricane shield when storms threaten. I like the pray theory offered by priest in Jamaica as a better option.

I just talked to an NBC reporter who just drove through Mexico where the eye hit. He grew up in tornado alley and he says it looks just like a huge tornado touched down. Luckily Dean hit a mostly unpopulated region of Mexico.
Dean tried to fire up over open water once again but it was too late. The Hurricane Center did raise the intensity up to a generous 100 mph at the second landfall. The pressure only dropped to around 974 mb right before landfall.
It's too early for damage reports for today's landfall but I'm sure the rain and mudslide pictures will be the most dramatic.

Dean will get torn apart over the mountains this evening. The interesting part of the forecast is that the tropical moisture from Dean will make its way up along the Baja of California over the next two days. By the weekend, this moisture will bring rain to Arizona and New Mexico. It's almost funny that these states will end up with more rain from Dean then Texas did. I'm sure everyone in Phoenix will be happy with clouds and showers after 110 temps all week.

The rest of the tropics are amazingly quiet. A tropical wave will move over Florida tonight but no developement is expected. The rest of the tropical waves in the Atlantic don't show any spin either. So thanks for checking in for WX Plus Hurricane In Depth. I'm sure we will chat again soon for the next storm. My guess is Sept 6th. There is always a storm on my wife's birthday.

-BK