HURRICANES – NATURE’S FURY!!!

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Check these out…

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You’d probably want to

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evacuate at this point…

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What kind of damage are we talkin’ about here?

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 Ok, So What Exactly Is a Hurricane?
A hurricane can best be
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described as a huge
tropical storm (up to

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600 miles in diameter)!

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Winds can be up to 200 Arrows indicate

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mph! “feeder bands” or

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“rain bands”
Storm usually doesn’t
last for more than 7-10
days.

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It moves across the wall. They eye of the storm is usually about 20

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ocean at around 10-20 miles in diameter. Within the eye, winds are

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mph…not too fast calm and the weather is great.
really!

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Scary…so when do I need to watch out for these things??
Since we’re in the USA, we’ll focus on what meteorologists call the

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“Atlantic Basin”. The Atlantic basin includes the Atlantic Ocean,
Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.

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The “hurricane
season” is just a

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name for the time

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period when we

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expect to see

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tropical systems
develop. The

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hurricane season for

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the Atlantic runs
from June 1st –

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November 30th.
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Peak season is the middle part of September.

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So where are these “Atlantic Basin” Hurricanes forming???
Storms of the Atlantic
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basin will begin forming

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in one of three places:

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• Off the coast of Africa What is the

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• In the Caribbean Sea ITCZ????
• In the Gulf of Mexico

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Intertropical Convergence Zone

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The ITCZ is an
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area of low
pressure located

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roughly 5 degrees
North and South of

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the Equator. It is a

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place where air

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converges, rises,
and condenses

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(forming clouds).
It is the rainiest

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place on Earth!

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So What Does a Hurricane Need in Order to Develop?

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So a hurricane needs warm water, time to grow, and favorable upper level
winds in the troposphere. If the winds are too strong, they will blow the

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hurricane apart – we call that wind shear!

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Evolution of Hurricane Development -- Stages
Stage 1 – Tropical Wave (Depression)
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Usually has begun its life off of the west coast of Africa in the

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ITCZ. Tropical depressions have winds of less than 39mph, and

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are not given a name.

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Lacks structure – no well

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developed feeder bands or
eye

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Evolution of Hurricane Development -- Stages
Stage 2 – Tropical Storm
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At this point, the tropical storm is beginning to develop some

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serious structure. Winds range from 40-73 mph. In the Atlantic,
storms are given a name when they reach this stage.

Feeder bands are beginning to

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develop – you can see the center of

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the low pressure system more

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easily. Eye and eye wall still not
well formed.

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Evolution of Hurricane Development -- Stages
Stage 3 – Category 1 Hurricane
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Winds range from 75-94 mph.

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Well developed
feeder bands. An
eye begins to form
(although it is
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covered in clouds).
Storm is tightening
around center.
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Evolution of Hurricane Development -- Stages

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Stage 4 – Category 2 Hurricane

Winds range from 95-110 mph.

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Well developed

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feeder bands. An

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eye and eye wall
are usually very
well formed.
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Storm continues to

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tighten around

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center.

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Evolution of Hurricane Development -- Stages

Stage 5 – Category 3 Hurricane

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Now considered a “Major

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Storm”. Intense flooding

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and building damage will
occur to most areas on the

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coast. Further inland, the

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damage will still be
substantial.

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Evolution of Hurricane Development -- Stages
Stage 6 – Category 4 Hurricane
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Winds range from 131-155 mph.

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All shrubs, signs and trees

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blown down. COMPLETE

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DESTRUCTION of mobile
homes. Extensive damage to

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doors and windows. Major

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damage to lower floors of
structures near the coast.

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Evolution of Hurricane Development -- Stages
Stage 7 – Category 5 Hurricane
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Winds greater than 156 mph!

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Complete roof failure on

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many residential and
industrial buildings. Some

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complete building failures

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with small utility buildings

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blown over or away.

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Massive evacuation of
residential areas on low

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ground within 5-10 miles
of the coastline maybe

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required.

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Saffir-Simpson Scale of Hurricane Intensity

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Hurricane Naming System – Why do they have names anyway?
Andrea

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 In 1979, men’s names were added Barry
to the list of hurricane names. This year’s list Chantal

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Dean

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 In the Atlantic, there are 6 lists of Erin
names that are recycled.

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Felix

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Gabrielle
 In the case of storms so Humberto

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devastating that reusing the name Ingrid

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is inappropriate, the name is taken Jerry
off the list and another name is

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Karen
used to replace it. The name Lorenzo

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“Katrina” is one that will be Melissa
removed from the list. Noel

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Olga
 In 1953 the National Weather Pablo

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Service began naming storms after Rebekah

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women. Sebastien
Tanya

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Van
Wendy
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Aftermath…

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Aftermath…

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Aftermath…

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