Tropical Storms Hit the U.S.

July 6, 2005

Tropical Storms Hit the U.S.
July 6, 2005 – Tropical Storm Cindy crashed ashore late Tuesday night in Louisiana. With winds up to 70 miles per hour, the storm was expected to dump up to 10 inches of rain on the Gulf Coast and Southeastern United States.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Dennis continued to strengthen as it moved west, prompting Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands to post watches and warnings. Forecasters said the storm could be a hurricane by Wednesday, with Cuba directly in its forecast path. This morning, the storm was 25 miles east-northeast of New Orleans, moving north-northeast at about 14 mph and setting a path likely to take it through Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.

Dennis signals the fastest start to a season on record, said Richard Knabb, hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

"Dennis looks like something that you’d see in August or September," Knabb said. "It has the potential to become a hurricane and something that people in the southeastern United States should take seriously."

Although Dennis remains a distant threat, Knabb urged residents to prepare. Stock up on supplies and have an evacuation plan, he said.

That may be especially important in what is shaping up as a busy year for storms and hurricanes. In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast as many as 15 tropical storms, with up to nine becoming hurricanes.