Hurricane Dean

Still 180 miles from the island, the outer bands of Hurricane Dean began lashing Jamaica this morning, according to the latest report from the National Hurricane Center. The Cayman Islands are also under a hurricane warning.

The Category 4 hurricane has sustained 145 mph winds, and its "core" is expected to make a direct hit on Jamaica, where residents and tourists were busily preparing -- by securing buildings or catching the last flights out. The storm battered Haiti and the Dominican Republic, though the storm passed well south of the island of Hispaniola. Before that, it was blamed for several deaths on eastern Caribbean Islands.

Tropical storm-force winds still may hit parts of Cuba. Residents and tourists in the Mexican city of Cancun, on the Yucatan Peninsula, were also busy preparing. The storm could reach there as a Category 5 hurricane early next week. Preparations are also under way across the Gulf of Mexico in Texas. Rain and wind could produce "life-threatening" floods and mudslides, the National Hurricane Center warned, along with "large and dangerous battering waves."

The storm was so big it awed NASA astronauts, who saw it while on a space walk. NASA is rushing those astronauts home to avoid trying to make a shuttle landing during or shortly after Hurricane Dean passes Houston. This image shows wind speed on Aug. 16 NASA

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