Hurricanes - A Look Into Killer Storms

Hurricanes are large storms that develop in tropical locations and have built sustained wind speeds of greater than 74 miles per hour. These storms begin as a collective grouping of thunderstorms and develop a central area of lower pressure. As this low pressure area builds, the air in the central area drops and moves outwards. This air passes the relatively warm waters in the tropical areas where it picks up moisture and heat. This hotter air then rises and brings the moisture up into the atmosphere where the heat is transferred to the atmosphere leaving the moisture behind to form rain.

Hurricanes occur in both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North East Pacific Ocean. Since they are on the northern hemisphere they are found to have a counter-clockwise rotation. (Tropical cyclones in other areas are called Typhoons, cyclones, and other names. Those that form on the southern hemisphere have a clockwise rotation). They begin as tropical depressions where they have wind speeds of less than 39 mph and a drop in atmospheric pressure at the center begins. As it builds in intensity and the sustained winds reach levels of 39 to 73 mph they are re-classified as tropical storms and their circular motion become apparent at this stage. With sustained wind speeds greater than 74 mph the storm has officially become a Hurricane and now has the distinct eye.

The eye of the storm is a result of the low pressure area and is surrounded by the “eye wall”. The strongest winds of the storm are usually located around the eye wall area. It is said that the eye of the storm is the calmest area and is usually cloud free. When you see a satellite picture of a hurricane you can clearly see the eye in the center of the swirling clouds.

Hurricanes have represented such a destructive capacity that many of them have been memorialized. In fact these storms are given names and when they achieve an epic level of destruction their name is typically retired. Each area in the world that tracks these storms has its own naming convention. Usually the area where the storm forms is where the name comes from. Most areas have the names already picked out for years in advance. Many lists have names that are submitted by multiple nations due to the large areas that are covered. For the U.S. there are two areas of major concern...the Northern Atlantic and the North Eastern Pacific.

These two areas have multiple lists that cycle year for year. Each year a new list is used. The names are already chosen and do not change unless one of them are retired. It seems to me that one or more per year are retired from the lists, but that is just my feeling…not fact.

Hurricanes are very destructive forces. The reasons are many. First they bring a "storm surge" where they tend to push the tides to higher levels and force water inland. Flooding occurs and causes catastrophic damages. (We need look no further than Hurricane Katrina where flooding was so severe that it shut an entire region down for several months...in fact the area still suffers from the destructive effects).

Second they bring very strong winds. By definition the winds are greater than 74 miles per hour. Getting a feeling for how strong that could be might be difficult but if you have ever held your hand outside of the window while driving down the freeway you might get an idea. Could you imagine holding a small branch with leaves out the window at 65? It would probably rip right out of your hands. These winds have a significant effect on the areas where they hit. Signs get pulled out of the ground, tiles off of roofs, branches off of trees.

Another significant destructive force is the tornadoes that can be found in the storm bands rotating around the eye. These storms are circling around the eye, rotating as it feeds the larger storm. Storm bands form and tornadoes can form on their leading edges. Tornadoes are well recognized as significantly destructive forces of nature.

All in all Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones (depending on where they occur) are extremely devastating forces of nature that represent a significant challenge to prepare for and survive. The good news is that we usually have an advance notice of several days before one of these beasts hit. I have survived a few, but none of them were so destructive that their names were retired. I know that Jason was a survivor of a significant "super" typhoon on the island of Guam a few years back. He relates stories to me of power being out for weeks.

Be Good!

Curt

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