The center of powerful Hurricane Dean is now passing just south of the western part of Jamaica with 145 mph winds; a healthy category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
A Kingston observing site has reported sustained easterly winds to 114 mph and gusts to at least 138 mph.
The center of Dean has passed the longitiude of the city of Negril, on the western tip of Jamaica, with weather conditions expected to slowly improve in the overnight hours on the island nation.
There have been reports via radio of uprooted trees, rooftops torn away, impassable roads, and a mudslide.
Moreover, tremendous waves battered the southern and eastern shore as well and torrential rains.
Rainfall amounts will be in the 5 to 10 inch range with some areas receiving as much as 20 inches before the rain subside overnight tonight. The heavy rains will lead to life-threatening mudslides.
Dean's forecast track takes the powerful hurricane south of the island of Grand Cayman on Monday. Although not a direct hit, the Cayman Islands will deal with battering waves, high surge, and rainfall amounts on the order of 4 to 8 inches with some totals nearing a foot of rain or more.
By Tuesday, the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico will feel impacts from Hurricane Dean. Resort areas of Cancun and Cozumel should be prepared for this powerful hurricane. By Wednesday night into Thursday, Dean is expected to make a final landfall along the mainland Mexican coast.
Numerous hurricane and tropical storm watches and warnings are in place for the various Caribbean islands including a hurricane warning for Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, as well as part of the eastern Yucatan Peninsula from Belize City, Belize, to Cancun, Mexico.
Remember that watches mean that conditions are possible within 36 hours; warnings mean that conditions are expected within 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the book has not been closed on Tropical Depression Erin. After drenching Texas from the Gulf Coast to the Texas Hill Country to the Panhandle during the latter half of last week, a re-energized Erin unleashed even more tropical downpours over Oklahoma.
During a 6 to 12 hour period from late Saturday night through Sunday morning, tremendous rainfall amounts of 5 to 11 inches fell over the west-central part of the state. The extreme rainfall has left parts of west-central Oklahoma under water and many people in life-threatening situations. Numerous high water rescues (from roof tops and stranded cars) have been in progress during the morning and afternoon hours.
The center of TD Erin then drifted to the east directly over Oklahoma City during the mid-morning hours producing flooding rains and winds gusts between 50 and 60 mph across the capital city. The remnant low pressure center dissipated over central Kansas on Sunday evening, but the remnant moisture continues to drift through Missouri. The moisture will interact with a stalled frontal boundary across the Midwest and enhance the chance of heavy rains near the Great Lakes and in Upper Mississippi Valley on Monday.