Hurricane Dennis (2005)

Name: Hurricane Dennis (2005): track and modeled winds
Creator: NOAA/NWS National Hurricane Center

Hurricane Dennis was a Category 4 hurricane at its peak, with 150 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 930 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 2 of the cities we track; the strongest was Pensacola, FL, with a modeled peak gust of 111 mph.

Peak strength150 mph winds (1-minute): Category 4
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track: 2
LandfallsFirst July 4, 2005: 4
Lowest pressure: 930 mb

Track, wind field and cities

Select a piece of the track or a city for details.

Depression or weaker
Tropical storm
Hurricane, Category 1 or 2
Major hurricane, Category 3 to 5
Landfall
City (larger ring, stronger modeled gust)
Modeled wind field, 39 to 111 mph sustained (darker, stronger; orange 111 mph+)

Source: NOAA/NWS National Hurricane Center best track (HURDAT2). City winds and the wind field are modeled.

The shaded areas are where our model puts Hurricane Dennis’s sustained winds over open land at 39 mph or more (tropical-storm force), 58, 74 (hurricane force) and 111 mph (major hurricane force) at some point along its track. Modeled, not measured. How we model hurricane winds

Landfalls

July 4, 2005, tropical depression at 35 mph, in Grenada
July 8, 2005, Category 4 at 138 mph, in Cuba
July 8, 2005, Category 4 at 138 mph, in Cuba
July 10, 2005, Category 3 at 121 mph, about 6 miles from Pensacola, FL

Modeled winds at cities (2)

Estimated peak winds for open, flat ground at each city’s center. Not measurements. How we model hurricane winds

City	Peak gust	Sustained	Closest pass	Peak
Pensacola, FL	111 mph	91 mph	4 miles	Jul 10, 2005, 3:30 PM EDT
Crestview, FL	65 mph	53 mph	38 miles	Jul 10, 2005, 3:15 PM EDT

What happened

After crossing Cuba, Dennis made landfall on Santa Rosa Island, Florida, between Navarre Beach and Gulf Breeze, at about 1930 UTC (2:30 p.m. CDT) on July 10, 2005, as a Category 3 hurricane with 105-knot (121 mph) winds and a 946 mb central pressure.^1,2 An NWS aerial survey found a band of destruction 5 to 10 miles wide, mostly east of the eye, as the center moved north-northwest across Santa Rosa and northeast Escambia counties into southwest Alabama.² A monitoring tower at Navarre measured a 105-knot (121 mph) gust, Pace had a 92-knot (106 mph) gust, and the Pensacola airport gusted to 81 knots (93 mph).²

NHC puts the storm surge at 6 to 7 feet on Santa Rosa Island near landfall, where it washed over the island near and west of Navarre Beach, and NWS Mobile estimated a storm tide near 6.5 feet at Navarre Beach.^1,2 Wind and surge damaged almost every structure on Navarre Beach, and buildings right on the beach took the worst of it.² Inland, most structural damage to buildings fell between Navarre, Milton and Jay, and nearly 200 homes in northwest Florida had major damage.² Far to the east, a surge of 6 to 9 feet in Apalachee Bay flooded parts of St. Marks and nearby areas, and surges of 3 to 5 feet reached the Florida west coast, the Keys and the Alabama coast.¹

NHC counts three direct deaths in the US, in the Florida Keys, at Dania Beach, Florida, and near Atlanta, and puts US damage at $2.545 billion.¹

Sources

1. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Dennis (AL042005)
2. NWS Mobile/Pensacola: Hurricane Dennis, July 10, 2005

Best track (59 positions)

Time	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position
Jul 4, 18:00 UTC	Tropical depression	29 mph	1010 mb	12.0°N, 60.8°W
Jul 4, 21:00 UTC (landfall)	Tropical depression	35 mph	1010 mb	12.1°N, 61.6°W
Jul 5, 00:00 UTC	Tropical depression	35 mph	1009 mb	12.2°N, 62.5°W
Jul 5, 06:00 UTC	Tropical depression	35 mph	1008 mb	12.5°N, 64.2°W
Jul 5, 12:00 UTC	Tropical storm	40 mph	1007 mb	13.0°N, 65.9°W
Jul 5, 18:00 UTC	Tropical storm	46 mph	1005 mb	13.6°N, 67.3°W
Jul 6, 00:00 UTC	Tropical storm	52 mph	1000 mb	14.3°N, 68.5°W
Jul 6, 06:00 UTC	Tropical storm	58 mph	995 mb	14.7°N, 69.7°W
Jul 6, 12:00 UTC	Tropical storm	63 mph	991 mb	15.1°N, 70.9°W
Jul 6, 18:00 UTC	Tropical storm	69 mph	989 mb	15.6°N, 71.9°W
Jul 7, 00:00 UTC	Category 1 hurricane	81 mph	982 mb	16.2°N, 73.0°W
Jul 7, 06:00 UTC	Category 1 hurricane	92 mph	972 mb	16.7°N, 74.1°W
Jul 7, 12:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	104 mph	967 mb	17.6°N, 74.9°W
Jul 7, 18:00 UTC	Category 3 hurricane	115 mph	957 mb	18.5°N, 76.1°W
Jul 8, 00:00 UTC	Category 4 hurricane	138 mph	951 mb	19.4°N, 77.1°W
Jul 8, 02:45 UTC (landfall)	Category 4 hurricane	138 mph	956 mb	19.9°N, 77.6°W
Jul 8, 06:00 UTC	Category 3 hurricane	127 mph	953 mb	20.3°N, 78.4°W
Jul 8, 12:00 UTC	Category 4 hurricane	150 mph	938 mb	20.9°N, 79.5°W
Jul 8, 18:00 UTC	Category 4 hurricane	138 mph	941 mb	22.0°N, 80.6°W
Jul 8, 18:45 UTC (landfall)	Category 4 hurricane	138 mph	941 mb	22.1°N, 80.7°W
Jul 9, 00:00 UTC	Category 3 hurricane	115 mph	960 mb	22.7°N, 81.6°W
Jul 9, 06:00 UTC	Category 1 hurricane	86 mph	973 mb	23.4°N, 82.5°W
Jul 9, 12:00 UTC	Category 1 hurricane	92 mph	967 mb	24.3°N, 83.4°W
Jul 9, 18:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	104 mph	962 mb	25.2°N, 84.2°W
Jul 10, 00:00 UTC	Category 3 hurricane	127 mph	942 mb	26.1°N, 85.0°W
Jul 10, 06:00 UTC	Category 4 hurricane	144 mph	935 mb	27.2°N, 85.8°W
Jul 10, 12:00 UTC	Category 4 hurricane	138 mph	930 mb	28.5°N, 86.3°W
Jul 10, 18:00 UTC	Category 3 hurricane	127 mph	942 mb	29.9°N, 86.9°W
Jul 10, 19:30 UTC (landfall)	Category 3 hurricane	121 mph	946 mb	30.4°N, 87.1°W
Jul 11, 00:00 UTC	Tropical storm	52 mph	970 mb	31.5°N, 87.7°W
Jul 11, 06:00 UTC	Tropical depression	35 mph	991 mb	32.6°N, 88.5°W
Jul 11, 12:00 UTC	Tropical depression	29 mph	997 mb	33.9°N, 88.8°W
Jul 11, 18:00 UTC	Tropical depression	23 mph	1002 mb	35.3°N, 89.1°W
Jul 12, 00:00 UTC	Tropical depression	23 mph	1003 mb	36.4°N, 89.2°W
Jul 12, 06:00 UTC	Tropical depression	17 mph	1005 mb	37.1°N, 89.0°W
Jul 12, 12:00 UTC	Tropical depression	17 mph	1007 mb	37.7°N, 88.7°W
Jul 12, 18:00 UTC	Tropical depression	17 mph	1008 mb	38.1°N, 88.3°W
Jul 13, 00:00 UTC	Tropical depression	17 mph	1009 mb	38.5°N, 87.8°W
Jul 13, 06:00 UTC	Tropical depression	17 mph	1010 mb	38.9°N, 87.2°W
Jul 13, 12:00 UTC	Low	17 mph	1010 mb	39.2°N, 86.5°W
Jul 13, 18:00 UTC	Low	17 mph	1010 mb	39.2°N, 85.8°W
Jul 14, 00:00 UTC	Low	12 mph	1009 mb	39.2°N, 85.7°W
Jul 14, 06:00 UTC	Low	12 mph	1009 mb	39.0°N, 85.6°W
Jul 14, 12:00 UTC	Low	12 mph	1010 mb	38.7°N, 85.6°W
Jul 14, 18:00 UTC	Low	12 mph	1010 mb	38.4°N, 85.6°W
Jul 15, 00:00 UTC	Low	12 mph	1009 mb	38.1°N, 85.8°W
Jul 15, 06:00 UTC	Low	12 mph	1010 mb	37.9°N, 86.2°W
Jul 15, 12:00 UTC	Low	12 mph	1012 mb	38.1°N, 86.4°W
Jul 15, 18:00 UTC	Low	12 mph	1012 mb	38.4°N, 86.6°W
Jul 16, 00:00 UTC	Low	12 mph	1011 mb	38.6°N, 86.8°W
Jul 16, 06:00 UTC	Low	12 mph	1013 mb	39.4°N, 86.5°W
Jul 16, 12:00 UTC	Low	12 mph	1013 mb	40.2°N, 86.2°W
Jul 16, 18:00 UTC	Low	12 mph	1014 mb	40.8°N, 85.2°W
Jul 17, 00:00 UTC	Low	12 mph	1013 mb	41.3°N, 84.1°W
Jul 17, 06:00 UTC	Low	12 mph	1013 mb	42.2°N, 83.2°W
Jul 17, 12:00 UTC	Low	12 mph	1013 mb	43.1°N, 82.3°W
Jul 17, 18:00 UTC	Low	12 mph	1012 mb	43.9°N, 81.4°W
Jul 18, 00:00 UTC	Low	12 mph	1010 mb	44.6°N, 80.5°W
Jul 18, 06:00 UTC	Low	12 mph	1009 mb	45.8°N, 79.8°W

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