A Cape Verde hurricane that formed on August 13, 2007, Dean took a west-northwest path from the eastern Atlantic Ocean through the Saint Lucia Channel and into the Caribbean.

The hurricane's intense winds, waves, rains and storm surge were responsible for at least 45 deaths across ten countries and caused estimated damages of US$1.66 billion.

Donations solicited by international aid organizations joined national funds in clearing roads, rebuilding houses, and replanting destroyed crops.

A small remnant circulation reached the Pacific Ocean,[32] eventually moving northwestward around an anticyclone, roughly parallel to the Mexican coast and finally back inland over the southwestern United States,[33] where it completely dissipated on August 27.

[34] Hurricane Dean's smooth and well-predicted track gave unusually advance warning to all of the nations in its path and allowed them time to prepare for the storm's impact.

[citation needed] As Hurricane Dean approached the Lesser Antilles the local meteorological services issued watches and warnings, advising residents to prepare for the storm.

[44] The government of Dominica also canceled leave for emergency service personnel[45] and evacuated Princess Margret Hospital, fearing that its roof might be vulnerable to the storm's winds.

[49] The Eastern Caribbean Donor Group convened a meeting on August 16 under the Chair of the Resident Representative United Nations Development Programme Barbados in anticipation that member states would require international assistance.

The Jamaican government executed long-standing evacuation plans, including converting the country's national arena into a shelter and relocating inmates from two maximum security prisons.

[61][62] UNICEF prepared 4 emergency health kits and 1,000 water containers and Copa Airlines agreed to fly the supplies to Jamaica on its scheduled August 22 flight, if possible.

[67] Expecting catastrophic damage, two Royal Navy ships of the Atlantic Patrol Task (North), HMS Portland and RFA Wave Ruler, followed 150 mi (240 km) behind the storm in order to arrive at Cayman as soon after the hurricane as possible.

[69] Oil futures spiked on August 15 as analysts considered the impact of Hurricane Dean on refining capacity if it were to move into the Caribbean as predicted.

[83] On August 18, 2007, 10,300 barrels (1,640 m3) of oil and 11 million cubic feet (310,000 m³) of natural gas were shut-in per day, accounting for 0.8% of crude production in the Gulf of Mexico.

[86] In the United States, the Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness activated its Crisis Action Team on August 16 to monitor the storm and coordinate preparation.

[70] Texas Governor Rick Perry declared Dean to be an imminent threat to the state, and initiated a full-scale hurricane preparedness effort on August 17 when the storm was at least five days away.

Governor Perry feared that more rainfall from Dean would cause additional flash flooding,[89] and had 250 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department crews on standby with boats to assist in potential evacuations.

The night saw heavy rains, 1.58 in (40 mm) at St. Lucia's Hewanorra International Airport,[102][103] and intense thunderstorms and by morning hurricane-force winds peaked at 90 mph (145 km/h).

[108] The Ministry of Communications, Works, Transport, and Public Utilities reported that most of the country's major infrastructure remained functional, and no long-term disruptions occurred.

[55][124] Rain also caused landslides in Haiti,[125] destroying several hundred homes and forcing 5,154 people into temporary shelters,[74] and compromising the temperamental water system in the town of Bainet.

The hurricane's outer bands swept over Cuba between August 19 and 21, bringing heavy rain and high seas, yet sparing the island damaging winds.

[126] Rain from Hurricane Dean flooded several roads throughout Puerto Rico, and there was heavy surf along the island's coast, but no deaths or injuries were reported.

[144] No land effects were reported in Nicaragua but a four-year-old girl drowned on a boat that sank amidst high winds and waves at the mouth of the Kukra River.

Most cruise lines diverted their ships away from the Western Caribbean in anticipation of Hurricane Dean's passage, though by August 27 all were back on schedule, except those with damaged ports in Belize and the Yucatán.

The brevity of their visit prompted some of Martinique's famous writers, including Edouard Glissant, Patrick Chamoiseau and Raphael Confiant, to write an open letter airing their grievances concerning French politics and the handling of Hurricane Dean's impact.

[164] World Bank Director for the Caribbean and the Jamaican Finance Minister negotiated a 17-year repayment plan, and endowed the money into the Jamaica Hurricane Dean Emergency Recovery Project.

The Jamaica Social Investment Fund, which was charged with implementing the project, used the money to "rebuild and support schools, health centers, and community and farm roads affected by the hurricane".

[165][166] The Hurricane Dean Emergency Recovery Project finally kicked off in June 2008, with the issuance of rural road repair contracts valued at JA$37 million (US$520,000).

[35] Quintana Roo Governor Félix González Canto reported that although the cleanup in the state capital of Chetumal was completed within three weeks, it took more than six months to fix all of the region's more rural roads.

[172] The federal government was initially lauded for its swift and thorough preparation to which most observers, including the United Nations, attributed Dean's low death toll.

Members of President Felipe Calderón's Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) distributed bags of bread, funded by the nation's disaster relief coffers, carrying the party's logo.