MP News Staff

Baton down the hatches… looks like weather is going to hit the Gulf of Mexico. According to Reuters – “Hurricane Dean, which could strengthen into a Category 4 hurricane over the next two days, pounded the eastern Caribbean islands of Martinique and Dominica as it churned into the Caribbean Sea.

And next week Dean will likely enter the Gulf of Mexico, threatening the region’s oil and natural gas facilities, which account for roughly a third of U.S. oil production, the National Hurricane Center predicted.

On August 21, the NHC expects Dean to strike the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and weaken to a Category 2 storm with winds of 96 to 110 mph) or a Category 3 storm.

After crossing the Yucatan on Tuesday, the NHC projected Dean would enter the Gulf of Mexico where it will likely gain strength again before making landfall.” http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-08-17T120611Z_01_LAU663956_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-STORM-DEAN-COL.XML&archived=False