By Stacy Bodin

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By Stacy Bodin
Hurricanes Forces of Nature
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What is a hurricane?
A hurricane is a very destructive and dangerous
storm. It forms in stages. The hurricanes are
filled with rain, strong winds, lightning,
thunder, hail and tornadoes. In these storms,
when the winds 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.
Hurricanes rotate counterclockwise in the
northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern
hemisphere.
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What is eye of a hurricane?
While some hurricanes, are small, others can be
quite large. Hurricanes are mighty storms. In
the center of a hurricane is an eye. Ironically,
the eye is actually a calm area in a hurricane.
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How do hurricanes travel?

• Hurricanes have paths in which they travel and
  move at different speeds over water and land.
  Once they hit land, they do slow down and weaken.
  Warm water feeds the hurricane and helps them
  grow larger and stronger.

When hurricanes make landfall they have entered
land a certain area. Due to the fact that they
are huge storms, the areas surrounding landfall
are also affected.
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Whats in a name?
Hurricanes are named now, In the West Indies for
hundreds of years they were often named after the
particular saints day on which the hurricane
occurred. During World War II, they practiced
using womens names for the storms. In 1951 the
United States adopted a plan to name storms by a
phonetic alphabet (Able, Baker, Charlie), but
found it confusing. From 1953 until 1978, the
nations weather services used female names. In
1979, both male and female names were included in
lists for the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. You
can read more about this here!
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How do they measure hurricanes?
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
Category Wind speed (mph) Storm surge (feet)
5 156 More than18
4 131155 1318
3 111130 912
2 96110 68
1 7495 45
Additional classifications Additional classifications Additional classifications
Tropical storm 3973 03
Tropical depression 038 0
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Hurricanes in the United States
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Where have hurricanes made landfall in the United
States?

• In the next few slides, you will see the
  hurricanes which have made landfall in the US.
  Hurricanes have made landfall in other countries
  as well. These slides however show only US
  Hurricanes.
• Note These maps do not include Tropical Storms
  or Tropical Depressions, just Hurricanes.)
• Can you find the hurricanes which may have hit
  your state?

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1901-1920 US Hurricanes
NOAA Map
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1921-1940 US Hurricanes
NOAA Map
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1941-1960 US Hurricanes
NOAA Map
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NOAA Map
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Hurricane Trivia Deadliest Storm

• The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 made landfall on
  the city of Galveston, Texas on September 8,
  1900. It had estimated winds of 135 mph
  (215 km/h) at landfall, making it a Category 4
  storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
• Picture and information Source Galveston
  Hurricane of 1900 - Wikipedia, the free
  encyclopedia

During he 1900 Storm Galveston, Texas, 6,000
people died and it destroyed the city. See
Galveston Photos.
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Hurricane Trivia Costliest Storm
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane
season was the costliest hurricane. The total
damage from Katrina is estimated at 81.2 billion
Animated photo from CIMSS
Information from Wikipedia
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Has technology changed hurricane situations?

• Think about this. How do you think
  technology has changed Hurricane awareness and
  safety? The map on the left is a map from
  Hurricane Hilda in 1964. The map on the right is
  a map of Hurricane Rita in 2005. If the
  technology now available had existed for the 1900
  Galveston Hurricane, could the outcome have been
  different? How? Why? Explain your answer to the
  class or write a paragraph about it.

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The End

• Photos from the NOAA and CIMSS Sites.
• Sources sited include Wikipedia, the free
  encyclopedia