Guest Author - LeeAnn OLeary
Hurricane Dennis is currently as of 2pm Eastern daylight time located at 22.1N and 80.6W 190 miles SSE of Key West Florida. Dennis is packing winds of 145mph and is a Category 4 hurricane. Category 4 hurricanes are capable of producing extreme damage. Dennis is expected to make landfall anywhere from Florida to Louisiana sometime on Sunday. Dennis is a large storm like Ivan in 2004. Florida is already making preparations for Dennis with Governor Jeb Bush declaring a state of emergency. Tourists were ordered to evacuate along with all mobile home residents and those residents that are living in the
southernmost parts of the Florida keys.
Hurricane Dennis has already made history. Dennis is the strongest storm to form in the Atlantic ocean since the record keeping of tropical storms and hurricanes began in the year of 1851. This is also another historical first for this years hurricane season. Since the record keeping that began in 1851 at no other time recorded in history have 4 named storms formed in the Atlantic. The earliest date on record for a storm to have formed was July 5th. This season which started June 1st has already seen Tropical storm Arlene forming in June, followed by Tropical Storm Brett and Cindy which the remnants of are currently affecting the East Coast with plenty of rain. The 2005 hurricane season has had the busiest start ever to a hurricane season. Typically the busiest months of the hurricane season are August and September.
