Hurricane Dennis was an early-forming major hurricane in the Caribbean and
Gulf of Mexico during the very active 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. Dennis
was the fourth named storm, second hurricane, and first major hurricane of
the season. In July, the hurricane set several records for early season
hurricane activity becoming the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever to
form before August; a title it held for only six days before being surpassed by
Hurricane Emily. Dennis hit Cuba twice as a Category 4
hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, and made landfall on
the Florida Panhandle in the United States as a Category 3 storm less than a
year after Hurricane Ivan did so. Dennis caused at least 89 deaths in the U.S.
and Caribbean and caused $2.23 billion in damages to the United States, as well
as an approximately equal amount of damage in the Caribbean, primarily on
Cuba. Meteorological history
Hurricane Dennis began as Tropical Depression Four in the southeastern
Caribbean Sea on the evening of July 4, the first storm of the season to form
away from Mexico and Central America. Almost immediately, it made landfall on
Grenada as a tropical depression with 30 mph winds. On the morning of July 5, it
strengthened into Tropical Storm Dennis in the eastern Caribbean; at the time,
this was the earliest formation of an Atlantic season's fourth storm, although
this record was later surpassed when Tropical Storm Debby formed on 23 June
2012. The newly named Dennis began moving rapidly to the west-northwest.
It was clear from early weather forecasting models that Dennis had the
potential to be a major storm, and it was already predicted to reach hurricane
status while it was still a tropical depression. It reached hurricane
strength on the afternoon of July 6 while approaching the southern coast of
Hispaniola, and it quickly became a strong and well-organized Category 1
storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The next day it strengthened
rapidly to become a Category 4 major hurricane, the earliest in an Atlantic
hurricane season that a storm had reached that strength since Hurricane
Audrey in the 1957 season. After rapid strengthening, Dennis's track became
slightly more northerly, bringing it between Jamaica and Haiti by July 7;
both countries experienced high winds and heavy rain. As it approached Cuba
and strengthened to just under Category 5 intensity, Dennis's track began to
wobble. Meteorologists from the National Hurricane Center stated, "this type of
erratic motion is not unusual for intensifying major hurricanes." On July
7, Hurricane warnings were issued for Cuba at 11 am EDT. Dennis made landfall
near Punta dal Inglés with 140 mph winds late that day, and dropped down to a
Category 3 storm while crossing the peninsula. As it moved back into the
Gulf of Guacanayabo, its wind speed increased to a peak of 150 mph. Dennis
then slammed into south-central Cuba just west of Punta Mangles Altos on July
8, again with 140 mph winds. Crossing Cuba's mountainous terrain
disrupted the storm's circulation, weakening Dennis to Category 1
intensity. However, NHC forecasts continued to indicate the possibility of
a rebound to Category 4 status after convection was re-established, and
because conditions remained favorable. This prediction was borne out when
Dennis rapidly reintensified on the afternoon of July 9 over the Gulf Loop
Current, a reintensification described by NHC as having occurred "at a rate
that bordered on insane." The storm reached Category 4 intensity again on
the morning of July 10. At 1200 UTC, the storm reached its peak intensity of 930
mbar, surpassing Hurricane Audrey and setting a new record for the strongest
storm to form prior to August; the new record stood for only six days before
Hurricane Emily surpassed it by reaching a pressure of 929 mbar.
The storm continued moving north-northwest towards the central Gulf
Coast, which had seen the landfalls of Tropical Storm Arlene in June and
Hurricane Cindy the previous week. By the morning of July 10, hurricane
warnings were in effect in the U.S. for the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, and
Mississippi, with tropical storm warnings extending further east and west
along the coast. The NHC predicted a landing at near full strength in the
late afternoon. However, much like Hurricane Ivan which struck in the same
area the previous year, the storm weakened just before landfall; its
maximum sustained winds dropped from 145 mph to 125 mph.
Continental landfall occurred at Santa Rosa Island, between Pensacola, Florida,
and Navarre Beach, Florida, at 2:25 pm CDT on July 10. Dennis was a Category 3
hurricane with winds of 120 to 125 mph. The highest official wind speed reported
was a 121 mph wind gust at Navarre Beach. The storm lost strength over the
day and was a tropical depression by early on July 11. The depression
persisted, however, and gained a little strength while stalled over Illinois the
next day. It finally dissipated in Ontario on July 13, with advisories
ceasing a full three days after landfall.
Preparations Combined with Hurricane Cindy's landfall
on the Gulf Coast of the United States, uncertainty over Dennis's final landfall
helped push oil prices to a record high of $61.28 a barrel on July 6, and again
to $61.50 on July 7, although they dropped below $60 on July 8. Dennis was
originally forecast to strike Louisiana, one of the oil-producing regions of the
Gulf coast. Speculative spikes in oil prices due to Hurricane Dennis
foreshadowed the far greater price spikes caused by Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita in late August and September. In Haiti officials evacuated residents
along the coastline, but noted that many were not obliging. In Cuba more than
600,000 residents were moved from their homes to government shelters or other
locations in anticipation of Dennis. All schools were closed, and most flights in
the country were suspended or cancelled. In the United States, the governors of
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana all declared states of
emergency in their states. At 6 am CDT on July 9, 2005, all southbound lanes on
Interstate 65 from Mobile to Montgomery, Alabama, were closed. Traffic was
redirected, making all four lanes northbound to allow evacuations. In
Alabama residents in all parts of Mobile County, and those south of I-10 in
Baldwin County, were ordered to evacuate. Similar orders were issued in
Mississippi for parts of Jackson, Hancock, and Harrison counties; and for
coastal areas in the Florida Panhandle stretching from Escambia County to Bay
County. Likewise, military installations such as NAS Pensacola, Whiting Field,
Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field and Tyndall AFB were all evacuated days before the
storm. Additionally, Red Cross officials opened 87 shelters across the state
which were able to hold about 14,000 evacuees.
In Florida, about 50,000 tourists in the Keys were forced to evacuate by July 8.
The MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa evacuated its aircraft to McConnell Air
Force Base near Wichita, Kansas. 700,000 people in the Florida panhandle were
evacuated in the days prior to Dennis, 100,000 of them in Escambia County
alone. As a result of the large evacuations, more than 200 truckloads
provided about 1.8 million gallons of gasoline. The Red Cross also moved 60
mobile canteens capable of serving 30,000 hot meals each a day to the
staging points of Hattiesburg and Jackson. National guardsmen were
mobilized, and four emergency medical teams, each capable of setting up a
small field hospital, were on standby. Also, at Eglin Air Force Base, about
20,000 military personnel were evacuated, and at Hurlburt Field, home
to Air Force's 16th Special Operations Wing, a mandatory evacuation was ordered
for all 15,000 airmen and their families.
Impact Hurricane Dennis caused US$4 – 6 billion
and at least 89 deaths in its path past Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, and the United
States. = Caribbean =
Dennis first affected Jamaica while still a weak storm. One person was
killed there and damage was estimated at $32 million US$.
In Haiti, the Pan American Health Organization reports that 56 deaths and
36 injuries occurred; the storm also destroyed 929 homes and damaged another
3,000, leaving 1,500 families homeless. Among the dead were 16 who were killed
when a bridge collapsed during the hurricane. Furthermore, 24 persons are
still listed as missing. From there the storm moved to Cuba,
leaving 16 people dead and $1.4 billion in damages as it roared through the
island, flattening houses and downing trees and power lines. Heavy rainfall
fell across the country, with amounts reaching up to 1092 mm/42.99 inches,
making Dennis the wettest storm for the island since Hurricane Flora of 1963.
According to reports from the Cuban government, 120,000 homes were damaged,
15,000 of which were destroyed. The citrus and vegetable industries were
also devastated as Cuba's primary agricultural regions were the hardest
hit. Nonetheless, Fidel Castro publicly refused US aid after the storm in
protest of the ongoing US trade embargo against Cuba, stating that, "If they
offered $1 billion we would say no." Relayed reports from Cuban
meteorologists stated that a gust up to 149 mph was detected at Cienfuegos, 85%
of the power lines were down, and extensive damage to the communications
infrastructure had occurred. Dennis was more destructive than the previous
year's Hurricane Charley and was widely regarded as the worst hurricane to
strike Cuba since Hurricane Flora in the 1963 season.
= United States = In the United States, damage was not as
high as originally expected, mainly because Dennis was more compact and
moved more quickly than initially forecast. Dennis made landfall
approximately 30 miles to the east of where Hurricane Ivan had made landfall
10 months before, but did not cause as much damage as Ivan, due to its quicker
speed, compact size, and because the area was not fully rebuilt. Dennis moved
about 7 mph faster than Ivan at landfall, and had hurricane-force winds
that only extended 40 miles from its center, compared to Ivan's 105 miles.
During the height of the storm, Dennis produced storm surges as high as 9 ft in
the Apalachee Bay region, and as high as 7 ft on the Florida Panhandle, and left
680,000 customers without electricity in four southern states.
In southern Florida, damage was mostly limited to moderate wind gusts; in
Miami-Dade County, gusty winds knocked out several traffic lights along U.S. 1,
the only route to and from the Florida Keys. A man died in Ft. Lauderdale when
he stepped on a downed electrical wire and was electrocuted. Damage was mostly
minor and limited to outer rainbands and tornadoes in Central Florida. In the
Tampa Bay area, several tornadoes were reported to have touched down causing
minor damage such as downed trees and power lines. The most severe damage
occurred on the Florida Panhandle. At Navarre Beach, sustained winds of 98
miles per hour were reported with a peak gust of 121 miles per hour, while a
tower at the Pensacola Airport reported sustained winds of 82 miles per hour and
a peak gust of 96 miles per hour. Milton received 7.08 inches of rain, the
highest reported rainfall total in Florida caused by Dennis. No significant
damage was reported to most structures; however, insurers initially estimated
that Dennis caused $3–$5 billion in insured damage, or approximately $6–$10
billion total. However, the NHC's Tropical Cyclone Report reported total
damage in the United States as only $2.23 billion with $1.115 billion of
insured damage. In Alabama, sustained winds reached
minimal hurricane force in the interior of the state. In total, 280,000 people
in Alabama experienced power outages during the storm. No deaths occurred,
although Dennis caused three injuries and total damage amounted to $127
million, mostly due to structural damage. There was also severe damage to
cotton crops. In Mississippi, damage was not as severe as previously anticipated.
As Dennis impacted the state, a storm tide of 2 ft–4 ft above normal was
reported. Rainfall from the hurricane averaged between 1–5 inches, and minimum
barometric pressure of 994.2 mb was reported near Pascagoula. Wind gusts
peaked at 59 mph causing several hundred trees to uproot or snap, damaging a
total of 21 homes and businesses. Dennis caused at least 10 tornadoes in
the U.S., although only one of them reached F1 status on the Fujita scale.
The storm dropped over 10 inches of rain in some areas of Alabama and Georgia.
Parts of Georgia, which had received heavy rain just days earlier from
Hurricane Cindy, suffered heavy flooding, and flash-floods were reported
on the outskirts of the Atlanta metropolitan area.
In the United States, 15 storm-related deaths were reported, including one in
Walton County, three in Broward County, three in Charlotte County, one each in
Nassau and Escambia Counties and one in Decatur, Georgia. In the Gulf of Mexico,
the storm caused Thunder Horse PDQ, a BP oil rig about 150 miles southeast of New
Orleans, Louisiana, to severely list. = Retirement =
Because of the great amount of damage and deaths in the Caribbean and United
States, the name Dennis was retired in the spring of 2006 and will never be
used for an Atlantic hurricane again. It was replaced by Don on List III of the
2011 Atlantic hurricane season. See also
Center for Natural Hazards Research at East Carolina University
List of Florida hurricanes List of retired Atlantic hurricane names
List of wettest tropical cyclones by country#Cuba since 1963
List of wettest tropical cyclones in the United States
List of Category 4 Atlantic hurricanes References
External links National Hurricane Center tropical
cyclone report on Dennis – A final report issued by the National Hurricane
Center regarding Hurricane Dennis, including synoptic history,
meteorological statistics, casualties and damage, forecasting critique, and
information tables. The National Hurricane Center's archive
on Hurricane Dennis Radar animation of landfall in Florida
The Hydrometeorological Prediction Center's archive on Hurricane Dennis.
The Hydrometeorological Prediction Center's Rainfall page for Hurricane
Dennis. Historic Images of Florida Hurricanes