Environmental Science – Severe Weather Hurricanes Environmental Science – Severe Weather

What is a hurricane? A giant, swirling storm that is fueled by wet weather, winds and warm ocean waters. Hurricanes are the most destructive storms that occur on Earth. They can be up to 700 km in diameter. http://www.miamisci.org/hurri cane/hurricanepopup.html

How and where do hurricanes form? Hurricanes develop near Africa over the warm ocean waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans near the equator.  Hurricanes begin as tropical storms. Some tropical storms remain small but some gather more and more warm ocean moisture will speed up and turn into hurricanes. When the winds of a tropical storm reach 74 mph it is now categorized as a hurricane.

Anatomy of a Hurricane EYE EYEWALL STORM SURGE center of the hurricane relatively calm EYEWALL a wall of thunderclouds the most rain and strongest winds occur here STORM SURGE large waves produced from a hurricane can be the most dangerous aspect of a hurricane

Measuring Hurricane Strength Hurricanes are rated on a scale of 1 to 5 by their wind speed, storm surge and how much damage they may cause. The scale used to measure hurricane strength is called the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Damage Scale.

Saffir- Simpson Hurricane Damage Scale

When and where are hurricanes common? Hurricane season in the United States occurs in the late summer / early fall They are common along the east coast of the United States as well as the Gulf of Mexico

Naming Tropical Storms / Hurricanes Tropical storms are given names as an alternative to previously using latitude and longitude coordinates. Naming the storms helps avoid confusion and streamline communication. There is a strict procedure established by the World Meteorological Organization. For Atlantic hurricanes, there is a list of male and female names which are used on a six-year rotation. The only time that there is a change is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames.shtml

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