DR1 Lenny Update
By the time you come, Lenny should be history and all back to normal.
In Santo Domingo, supermarkets were full to the brim yesterday afternoon and evening as residents learned about Hurricane Lenny. The hurricane's track (4 am weather update) brings it well south of the DR but torrential rains are forecast. Interestingly, it only rained for about an hour in the evening. This early morning, the skies are cloudy but no rain is falling. Lenny is expected to come closest to the southeastern tip of the island as it makes its way to Puerto Rico. As a precaution, school was called off in the south and eastern provinces where the storm may be felt.
A tropical storm warning remains in effect for the south coast of the Dominican Republic. But General Jose de los Santos Sanchez, chief of the Civil Defense in the DR, said that the 1,400 refugees in the DR will not be opened until an alert bulletin or orange alert is issued by that department.
The Civil Defense is part of the National Commission of Emergencies. At 5 am AST, the center of the hurricane was located near latitude 15.2 north, longitude 71.5 west or about 410 kilometers (255 miles) south-southwest of Santo Domingo. It is moving east at about 24 km/hr (15 mph) and a gradual turn to the northeast is expected in the next 12-24 hours. This gradual turn to the northeast should be monitored closely.
Reports from US hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 160 km/hr (100 mph). This makes Lenny a category 2 hurricane, with some further strengthening forecast during the next 24 hours. Hurricane force winds extend outward to 85 kms (50 miles) from the center, and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 230 kms (145 miles). The DR is expected to be hit with tropical storm force winds. The weather authorities alert that rainfall totals of 100-300 millimeters may be felt on portions of the DR in central mountain areas, the south and the east coast.
Unless there is a drastic change in course, while Lenny will bring torrential rains to the DR it is not expected to cause major damage. The government has ordered that dam reservoir water levels be gradually lowered as a precaution. And areas hard hit by floods, such as Mesopotamia in southwestern San Juan de la Maguana are being evacuated, and people are willingly leaving this time.
Lenny is expected to have little effect outside of a day or two of rain on travel plans of vacationers. While power may be suspended as a precaution, note that because of the deficiencies of the state power corporation, all hotels and most businesses and middle class homes in the DR have alternate power supply sources.
Resorts in the area of influence of the hurricane are well prepared for the brunt of the storm, that should at the most mean a day of staying inside for visiting tourists. Since the worst of the hurricane is expected to pass at midnight Tuesday and morning Wednesday, most will not even notice it.
Lenny passed closer to Jamaica than it is forecast to pass the DR and while it soaked the south coast, it caused no major damage.
To monitor the hurricane, some good links with information (including AP and other news service reports) are:
<A HREF="http://www.weather.com/weather_center/trop_season">http://www.weather.com/weather_center/trop_season</A>/
<A HREF="http://www.usatoday.com/weather/huricane/images/atlantic_track_lenny.htm">http://www.usatoday.com/weather/huricane/images/atlantic_track_lenny.htm</A>
<A HREF="http://www.gopbi.com/weather/storm/atlantic/lenny.html">http://www.gopbi.com/weather/storm/atlantic/lenny.html</A>
<A HREF="http://www4.nlmoc.navy.mil/data/atcf/al161999.gif">http://www4.nlmoc.navy.mil/data/atcf/al161999.gif</A>
<A HREF="http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at199916.html">http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at199916.html</A>
<A HREF="http://www.intellicast.com/Tropical/World/UnitedStates/HurTrack1">http://www.intellicast.com/Tropical/World/UnitedStates/HurTrack1</A>/
