Western Caribbean Sea
Having cleared the disruptive landmass of Jamaica, Hurricane Gustav entered a period of sustained intensification. Within hours of leaving the island the storm regained hurricane status and the first signs of an eye appeared. Convective bands and upper-level outflow became well defined in all quadrants, wind shear decreased, and deep warm waters of the Caribbean Sean provided the perfect conditions for strengthening. The subtropical ridge over the eastern Gulf of Mexico developed a weakness, and as Gustav approached the Cayman Islands it was into this weakness that Gustav was drawn. As Hurricane Gustav tore through the low-lying Cayman Islands its 30 mi (48 km) wide eye became very well pronounced. In the early morning hours of August 30, and Gustav continued to pass through the Cayman Islands, the storm's winds increased to 100 mph (160 km/h), raising Hurricane Gustav to Category 2 strength.
Through the morning Hurricane Gustav continued to rapidly strengthen. Deep convection around the eye flared intensely and the hurricane's minimum central pressure dropped precipitously—24 mbar (0.71 inHg) in 24 hours. By 1000 UTC it had reached Category 3 strength and continued to strengthen. Another drop in pressure–down 11 mbar (0.32 inHg) in 6 hours to 954 mbar (28.17 inHg)–was quickly followed by an increase in wind speed to 145 mph (233 km/h), making Hurricane Gustav a Category 4 hurricane when it had been a mere tropical storm only 24 hours earlier. That afternoon, as Hurricane Gustav continued moving northwest towards Cuba, its western eyewall passed directly over the Isle of Youth.
Passing along the eastern coast of the Isle of Youth, Gustav wobbled slightly, possibly the result of an eyewall replacement cycle, and strengthened even further. Here, even as it brushed the island, Hurricane Gustav continued to strengthen, making a brief landfall with a central pressure of 943 mbar (27.85 inHg) and winds of 145 mph (233 km/h). Its long-term motion continued to be dominated by a mid-level ridge over the western Atlantic, and that evening, with a central pressure of 941 mbar (27.79 inHg), the hurricane made landfall in western mainland Cuba near los Palacios at just under Category 5 intensity, bringing its 155 mph (249 km/h) winds onshore. At a height of 10 metres (33 ft), a 211 mph (340 km/h) gust was recorded, which the World Meteorological Organization confirmed to be strongest ever measured during a hurricane.
Read more about this topic: Meteorological History Of Hurricane Gustav
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