HURRICANE DEAN has been changed to TROPICAL STORM DEAN.

Visit the NHC website for the latest.

A NHC special statement reports Dean’s second landfall:

THE CENTER OF HURRICANE DEAN MADE LANDFALL IN MEXICO NEAR THE TOWN OF TECOLUTLA…JUST EAST OF GUTIERREZ ZAMORA AND ABOUT 40 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF TUXPAN AT ABOUT 1130 AM CDT…1630 UTC. THE ESTIMATED INTENSITY OF DEAN AT LANDFALL WAS 100 MPH…160 KPH….CATEGORY TWO ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE.

The NHC’s 11 am EDT discussion talks about the hurricane’s development after emerging back over water:

RECENT OBSERVATIONS ARE SHOWING A CONTRACTION OF THE INNER CORE WIND FIELD … THE ADVISORY INTENSITY IS INCREASED TO 85 KT…MAKING DEAN A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE. FORTUNATELY…THESE CHANGES IN THE CORE STRUCTURE ARE OCCURRING TOO CLOSE TO LANDFALL TO ALLOW FOR MUCH FURTHER INTENSIFICATION.

The NHC’s 11 am EDT advisory talks about current warnings and forecast conditions along the Mexican coast:

A HURRICANE WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT ALONG THE GULF COAST OF MEXICO FROM COATZACOALCOS NORTHWARD TO LA CRUZ … DEAN IS EXPECTED TO REACH THE COAST OF MEXICO NEAR TUXPAN EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 6 TO 8 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS IS POSSIBLE… ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES… NEAR AND TO THE NORTH OF WHERE THE CENTER MAKES LANDFALL. DEAN IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE STORM TOTAL RAINFALL OF 5 TO 10 INCHES OVER PARTS OF SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL MEXICO… WITH MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF UP TO 20 INCHES. THESE RAINS COULD CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS AND MUDSLIDES … MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS…100MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE…979 MB.

Dr. Jeff Masters discusses early damage estimates:

Dean lost its eyewall and became rather disorganized from its passage over the Yucatan Peninsula, and is only now beginning to increase its winds. With only a few hours left before landfall, Mexico is fortunate that Dean is moving so quickly–20 mph–and does not have time to organize further. The Mexican coast near the landfall point is the most densely populated area Dean will affect, and damage there will probably exceed $1 billion. Risk Management Solutions has estimated the insured damage to the Yucatan was between $750 million and $1.5 billion. Total damage is typically double the insured damage, so the price tag for Dean will be very steep for Mexico. Dean also did an estimated $3 billion in damage to Jamaica, and $270 million to Martinique.

Fourteen U.S. soldiers died Wednesday when their helicopter crashed in northern Iraq, according to the U.S. military.

Visit CNN for the latest.

Hurricane Dean re-emerged over water in the Bay of Campeche shortly before 5:00 PM EDT yesterday, and is now heading toward central Mexico. Its winds are 80 mph, and according to the 11:00 PM discussion, “DEAN IS FORECAST TO RESTRENGTHEN BEFORE LANDFALL BUT IS RUNNING OUT OF TIME TO BECOME A MAJOR HURRICANE.” Landfall is expected to occur sometime this afternoon.

I feel like I keep saying this, but: I’m afraid I won’t be able to blog much, if anything, about Dean today. I’m back from the seminar in Nashville, but Becky and I have a ton of work to get done around the house, and other miscellaneous tasks to accomplish, in the next two days, and I think I’m going to have to pretty much go on a blog-hiatus to get everything done.