Hurricane Lili

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Wandering Wanda Wonders About Stormy Weather
(With Guest Cajun Flat Stanley)
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Wandering Wanda wanted to understand
hurricanes. So she traveled to a coastal parish
in Louisiana after Hurricane Lili struck in 2002.
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First Wanda located information on
Hurricane Lili. She found out that Lili hit the
coast of south Louisiana on October 3, 2002. So,
Wanda traveled to Vermilion Parish to get some
answers. She met Cajun Flat Stanley who helped
her find answers.
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Cajun Flat Stanley was able to find a map that
showed Hurricane Lilis path.
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Wandering Wanda wanted to know more facts
about hurricanes. Cajun Stanley showed her
research and said that a hurricane is a very
destructive and dangerous storm. It forms in
stages.
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Wanda then learned that when the winds in
this type of storm range from 35 to 54 miles an
hour, it is called a tropical depression. When
the winds are from 55 to 74 miles an hour then it
is called a tropical storm. When it reaches 75
miles an hour, it is called a hurricane.
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Cajun Stanley explained that hurricanes
are small and others quite large. But whatever
the case, hurricanes are the mightiest of all
storms. In the center of a hurricane is an eye.
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Wanda discovered that before Hurricane
Lili hit, everybody had to prepare for her
arrival. The newspapers, radio and television
stations all had important messages for the
people in Vermilion Parish.
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Cajun Stanley stressed that a key factor
about hurricanes is the importance of hurricane
safety. The people were encouraged to listen to
the warnings. Many Louisiana residents evacuated
to be safe.
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• Cajun Stanley explained to Wanda that the word
  evacuate means to pack your valuable things
  and take it with you. You need to head away from
  the storm. When people leave, they dont know if
  they are returning to a destroyed home or not.

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When Wanda saw the image of Hurricane Lili
hitting the state of Louisiana, she began to
understand how large a hurricane was. She knows
now that a hurricane is a huge and dangerous
storm. When she saw this radar image, she was
amazed with the size of this storm.
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• Wanda also learned something unusual
  happened when Hurricane Lili hit Vermilion
  Parish. The night before she hit the coast,
  Hurricane Lili was labeled a category four
  hurricane. Everyone was terrified because she was
  considered a very strong and dangerous storm.
  But something strange occurred that night.

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What Wanda found out was that Hurricane Lili had
gotten weaker before she hit the Louisiana coast.
The arrow shows where she weakened.
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It was very unusual that Hurricane Lili weakened
over water. Usually hurricanes gain strength
instead of losing strength when they are on water.

• This is a picture of Hurricane Lili on October
  2nd.

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So, Hurricane Lili losing strength before she hit
land was very, very unusual. Even
the meteorologists were surprised that this
happened.
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During her research, Wanda was shocked to
discover that although Hurricane Lili had
weakened, her winds were still clocked at 120
miles an hour. Wanda wonders, if this hurricane
was a category two, what would category four
hurricane winds have been like?
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When Lilis storm left Louisiana, there was a lot
of damage. Trees were knocked down and houses
destroyed.
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Twisters and strong winds left many telephone
lines lying across the roads. Many Vermilion
Parish residents stayed without electricity for a
week.
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Many homes were destroyed by the destructive path
of falling trees caused by dangerous winds and
tornadoes.
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A couple of schools were badly damaged by
the tornadoes, wind and rain too from Hurricane
Lili. Vermilion Parish Schools were closed for
over a week.
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Thankfully though, no lives were lost during
Hurricane Lilis visit. Most people survived with
only minor house or roof damage.
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Now that Cajun Stanley helped Wandering Wanda
has learn more about hurricanes, floods and tidal
surges, Wanda said that she hopes that she will
never have to experience any of these diasters.