1. Hurricanes

2. What is a Hurricane?
A hurricane is a tropical cyclone that has winds of 74 miles per hour or more.
Hurricanes form over the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.
Most hurricanes form from August-October in the Northern Atlantic Ocean.

3. How does a Hurricane form?
Hurricanes form over warm ocean water, drawing energy from the warm humid air at the ocean’s surface.
Air rises, forming clouds, wind, and rain, spiraling inward towards an area called the eyewall, with the quiet calm area called the EYE.
The strongest winds are found around the eye of the storm (up to 192 mph!)

4. How does a Hurricane move?
Lasting up to a week or more, travels from off the coast of Africa, through the warm tropical waters of the Atlantic, usually through the Caribbean islands, and to the eastern US.
Hurricanes lose strength as they come into contact with land or colder waters.
Based on strength of winds, hurricanes are can be categorized from tropical storms to a category 1-5.

5. Damages
Landing on shore, high waves from the ocean, severe flooding, and wind damage can occur.
Low pressure and high winds cause ocean levels to rise up to 19 feet above normal.
Called a storm surge, this ‘dome’ of water hits the coastline washing away beaches, houses, buildings along the coast causing erosion and devastation.

6. Frankenstorm: Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane + High Tide + High Pressure System in Canada + (climate change?)= disaster!
As predicted, Sandy’s most devastating effects would be seen by the storm surge.

7. Sandy hit as a category 1 storm but because it hit during high tide, the storm surge was a record breaking feet above sea level!
Plus the full moon added a 1 foot increase to the sea level.
The gravitational pull from the moon, makes high tides just a little higher than at other times of the month.

8. This caused a sharp turn directly into the DE, NJ, NY area.
Blocked!
A high pressure system in Canada-a wall of cold air blocked Sandy from continuing north out to sea.
This caused a sharp turn directly into the DE, NJ, NY area.
This caused the storm to continue in strength as opposed to traveling along land and getting the power zapped out of it.

9. Climate Change to blame?
Record amounts of Arctic sea ice and glaciers in Greenland was lost during the summer.
Climate change did not create hurricanes like Sandy, just strengthens them.
Storms may become more intense and more frequent with the warming of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans.
1 foot of the 13.2 storm surge could be argued part of rising sea levels.

10. Damages and Devastation
Estimated $50 billion in damages (ranking 2nd to Hurricane Katrina)
Wide spread power losses (most in any storm’s history)- 8.5 million w/out power
Hit the most densely populated state in the country
Beach erosion, home destruction
NYC subways flooded, Hoboken, Jersey City, Staten Island flooded.
New inlets created, coastline changed.

11. http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly- news/49631047#49631047
before-after-photos/