intensified over the Mona Passage, and attained hurricane status as it struck the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic on September 16. Continuing slowly west-northwestward near the coast, Jeanne quickly weakened to tropical storm status, and by 24 hours after landfall its convection had deteriorated as the eye feature dissipated. Late on September 17, it emerged into the Atlantic Ocean as a tropical depression, after having dropped torrential rainfall across Hispaniola. Catastrophic flooding and mudslides were experienced in Haiti, including in the coastal city of Gonaïves, and over 3,000 deaths were reported in the country. On September 17, while it was over Hispaniola, the National Hurricane Center issued a forecast that predicted Jeanne to make landfall near Savannah, Georgia in about five days. However, the forecast noted uncertainty in regards to the steering currents, which depended on the movement of the remnants of Hurricane Ivan and a ridge building behind it. After it left the nation as a tropical depression, the original center of circulation tracked westward away from the convection and dissipated. However, a new circulation developed closer to the convection, and Jeanne regained tropical storm status on September 18. By then, the mid-level circulation associated with Hurricane Ivan had combined with a trough to weaken the ridge located across the western Atlantic Ocean; this caused Jeanne to track northward through the Turks and Caicos Islands. As it tracked northward, the storm failed to organize at first, due to the influence of an upper-level low to its south. The circulation became broad and elongated, as well as removed from the deepest convection. However, after moving away from the low, the convection became better organized and more associated with the convection. After some initial slow organization continued, an area of deep convection developed over the center midday on September 20. An eye developed within the convection, and late on September 20 Jeanne re-attained hurricane status about east-northeast of the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas. While intensifying as a tropical storm, the National Hurricane Center faced difficulties in the future track of Jeanne, based on two major divergences between computer hurricane models. One scenario involved the storm accelerating east-northeastward to the south of a trough, following the path of Hurricane Karl to its east. The other scenario involved Jeanne turning southeastward and looping westward due to a building ridge. By early on September 20, the official forecast followed the first scenario,