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Wednesday August 22, 2:52 pm Eastern Time Tropical storm forms near Caribbean refinery HOUSTON, Aug 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Wednesday that a tropical storm had formed near Puerto Rico in the Caribbean, about 150 miles (240 km) from the island of St. Croix where a major oil refinery is located.

St. Croix is home to the 545,000 barrel-per-day Hovensa refinery, the biggest in the western hemisphere and a major supplier of gasoline to U.S. markets.

Officials at the refinery were not immediately available to say if refinery operations were affected by Tropical Storm Dean or if any precautions had been taken.

The refinery is jointly owned by Amerada Hess Corp. (NYSE:AHC - news) and Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).

At 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) Dean's center was located about 55 miles (90 km) north of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Maximum sustained winds were blowing near 60 miles per hour (95 kph) and tropical storm force winds extended up to 140 miles (220 km) from the storm's center.

Cyclonic tropical weather systems become tropical storms if maximum sustained winds reach 39 miles per hour (63 kph). Tropical storms are upgraded to hurricanes if maximum sustained winds reach 74 miles per hour (119 kph).

-- Anonymous, August 22, 2001

Answers

Oh thank goodness, I thought it might be a rum refinery.

-- Anonymous, August 22, 2001

local weather just said that there is a front that will protect the eastern seaboard from Dean. It will cause it to turn north and then back out to sea. It might graze the bahamas, though.

-- Anonymous, August 22, 2001

-- Anonymous, August 22, 2001

Weather Underground http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/at200105.disc.html

Tropical Storm Dean Discussion Number 2

Statement as of 5:00 PM EDT on August 22, 2001

the latest reports from the hurricane hunter aircraft monitoring Dean indicate a small center with a central pressure of 1009 mb and flight level winds of 63 kt. The center is exposed at the northern end of a convective band that trails southward across the Virgin islands. The maximum winds remain at 50 kt on this advisory.

The initial motion is 295/20. There is no change in the track forecast philosophy from the previous package. Dean is being steered by the Bermuda high to the northeast...and in the short term should continue the present west-northwestward motion. Later in the forecast period the storm should approach a large deep-layer trough located off the U.S. East coast...which should slow Dean and recurve it northeastward. NHC hurricane guidance agrees with this scenario...as does the official forecast. Should this forecast verify...Dean would not be a threat to the Mainland United states.

While Dean is currently under some westerly shear caused mainly by strong low-level flow...satellite imagery indicates some strong northerly flow may soon impact the storm in response to an upper level ridge building ahead of it. Should the small and likely fragile circulation survive the next 12 or 24 hr...it would move under this ridge and likely intensify. The intensity forecast reflects this philosophy. It is notable that the ships model makes Dean a hurricane in 12 hr and strengthens it to 90 kt by 72 hr.

The forecast track and wind radii require watches and warnings for portions of the Bahamas.

Forecaster beven

-- Anonymous, August 22, 2001

Gusted to the top. (Note NC and VA in yellow on middle chart, probably just high surf problems on the coast. I hope.)

-- Anonymous, August 23, 2001

It means the storm could come within 75 miles, according to the legend on the map.

I don't trust that front to keep Dean from continuing on his merry way. I don't care what they say, until it turns and goes out to sea, I will be waiting and watching.

-- Anonymous, August 23, 2001

Yep, but any time there's a storm in the Atlantic, the Carolina coast will lose a few more feet (sometimes more). I agree with you, the odds are the front will keep it away but there's a good 50% chance something will change--the forecasts have been wrong too many times.

-- Anonymous, August 23, 2001