‘Dangerous’ Hurricane Dean Racing Westward

Hurricane Dean strengthened to a Category Four storm Friday as it continued to head westward, battering Caribbean islands.

At 8 p.m. EDT, Dean was 800 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and 255 miles south-southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, the National Hurricane Center in Miami reported. The hurricane was moving west at 19 mph and was expected to lose speed as it continues on that track through Saturday.

Maximum sustained winds at the center of the storm were almost 135 mph. But Dean is a compact storm with hurricane-force winds extending only 35 miles from the eye, with tropical storm winds extending 185 miles out.

The Dominican Republic posted a hurricane warning for part of its southern coast. A tropical storm warning and hurricane watch were posted for Haiti and a hurricane watch was posted for Jamaica.

If Dean continues on its current path, the hurricane could hit the Yucatan Peninsula early Tuesday.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, several islands of the Lesser Antilles and the British Virgin Islands. That warning was expected to be discontinued Tuesday night.

A hurricane warning remained in place for Guadeloupe and nearby islands, and for parts of the Dominican Republic to the Haiti border.

Cuba issued a tropical storm watch from the province of Camaguey eastward to Guantanamo.

The hurricane watch for Martinique and Dominica, and the tropical storm watch for St. Lucia, Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten were discontinued.