Hurricane Dennis

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 killed 88 people—76 directly and 13 indirectly—in the U.S. and Caribbean and caused $2.23 billion (2005 USD) in damages to the United States, as well as an approximately equal amount of damage in the Caribbean, primarily on Cuba.

Meteorological history

The incipient tropical wave that became Dennis was identified on June 26, 2005, well-inland over Africa; it later emerged over the Atlantic Ocean on June 29 and moved briskly to the west.Dry air initially inhibited development, though once this abated the wave was able to consolidate into a tropical depression on July 4. The depression soon crossed Grenada before entering the Caribbean Sea whereupon increasingly favorable environmental factors, such as low wind shear and high sea surface temperatures, fueled intensification. Turning west-northwest, the system achieved tropical storm status on July 5 and hurricane status the following day. Formation of a well-defined eye and central dense overcast signaled Dennis's intensification into a major hurricane on July 7. Throughout this phase, the hurricane traversed the Jamaica Channel, bringing deadly floods to both Jamaica and Haiti.

Hurricane Dennis (disambiguation)

The name Dennis has been used for five tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean. The name was retired in 2006 and it was replaced by Don for the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season.

Hurricane Dennis (1981)

Hurricane Dennis was the most damaging storm of the 1981 Atlantic hurricane season which took twelve and a half days to reach hurricane status. The tropical wave that later would become Dennis moved off the African coastline on August 5. By August 7 a tropical depression developed, which quickly intensified into Tropical Storm Dennis, the 4th named storm of the 1981 season. As Dennis approached the Caribbean Sea, strong upper level winds degenerated the storm back into a tropical wave by August 11. On August 15 Dennis regained tropical storm status as it crossed Cuba and moved into the Straits of Florida. On the 18th and 19 August, Dennis traversed the Florida peninsula as a weak tropical storm and later moved offshore. Dennis then skirted the Carolinas and briefly reached hurricane strength before being declared extratropical on August 22.

Dennis left $15 million (1981 USD, $34.4 million in 2007 USD) in damage to the agriculture to Florida, with minor rainfall and effects farther north up the coast.