Per the Weather Channel:
Dangerous Hurricane Felix (160 mph) continues to swirl westward through the Caribbean Sea while maintaining its category 5 strength on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. The eye of Felix, as of 11 a.m. EDT, was located about 265 miles south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, near 14.3 North, 77.8 West. The hurricane is moving rapidly westward at 21 miles per hour and could make landfall near the Nicaragua-Honduras border early tomorrow as a potentially catastrophic category 4 or 5 hurricane.
Hurricane warnings are now in effect for the Caribbean coasts of northern Nicaragua and eastern Honduras. Hurricane watches are posted along the Caribbean coast westward and northward from there as far as the Belize-Mexico border.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic, there are two systems being monitored for tropical development. One is over the central Atlantic, about halfway between the Lesser Antilles and Africa. Upper level winds currently are not favorable for development, but if the disturbance can hold together, it could become a tropical depression within the next day or so. The other system being watched is an area of low pressure along a dying frontal boundary off of the Southeast coast. This disturbance has some potential for slow development over the next few days.
In the eastern Pacific, Tropical Storm Henriette weakened slightly overnight, and is now down to 65 mph. Conditions are favorable for strengthening, and Henriette is forecast to become a hurricane later today.
As of 8 a.m. PDT, Henriette was located near 19.9 North, 108.5 West, or about 220 miles south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Henriette is moving to the northwest near 12 miles per hour, but is expected to gradually turn to a more northerly track over the next 36 hours.
A hurricane warning is now in effect for the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula, from La Paz southward on the east coast, and from Santa Fe southward on the west coast. Henriette is expected to churn northward over the southern Baja Peninsula late Tuesday and weaken to a tropical storm as it emerges over the Gulf of California.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Hurricanes
Hurricanes rotate counterclockwise around the “eye”, an area of calm, clear air in the heart of a violent storm. The strongest part of a hurricane is the eyewall, the powerful cluster of thunderstorms that surround the eye. Hurricanes can spawn tornadoes within the bands of circulation. Lightning is rarely seen with hurricanes; only the worst in history ever did have it.
All hurricanes start out as a tropical depression, a disturbance in the ocean with winds of at least 25 mph and circulation. When the intensity strengthens and the winds strengthen beyond 39 mph, it is classified as a tropical storm and is given a name. Tropical storms are named according to the list in circulation. The National Weather Service creates a list of names for every six years. Each name alternates between a boy’s name and a girl’s name. The lists rotate over and over every six years. If there is a devastating hurricane that causes much loss of property or life or both, the name is removed from the list and a new name is put in to prevent bad memories, so there will never be another Hurricane Andrew or Hurricane Katrina.
As a tropical storm strengthens, it is bound to near land. A tropical storm watch means that a tropical storm will likely strike your area within 72 hours. A tropical storm warning means that you will feel tropical storm effects in the next 24-48 hours.
When a tropical storm’s winds reach 74 mph, it is classified as a hurricane. The strength of a hurricane is measured using the Saffir-Simpson scale.
The Saffir-Simpson Scale
Category 1 ~ 74-95 mph, 4-5 ft. storm surge
Category 2 ~ 96-110 mph, 6-8 ft. storm surge
Category 3 ~ 111-130 mph, 9-12 ft. storm surge
Category 4 ~ 131-155 mph, 13-18 ft. storm surge
Category 5 ~ 155+ mph, 18+ ft. storm surge
The storm surge is the most deadly part of a hurricane. Storm surge is the flooding that comes inland with a hurricane. The storm surge catches many people off guard. When a hurricane comes onto land, it is called a landfall. It is not considered a landfall until the eye of the hurricane comes onto land. Once a hurricane reaches land and travels inward, the warm ocean is gone and the storm loses energy.
The Atlantic Hurricane season lasts from June 1 to November 30. Hurricanes have happened in other months, though. The Pacific Hurricane season lasts from May 15 to November 30. In the Atlantic, peak hurricane action lasts from mid-August to mid-September.
Hurricanes are less dangerous than other storms because you can prepare in advance. If there is a mandatory evacuation order or if you don’t feel safe in your house, get out of there. If you are not told to evacuate, make a hurricane kit with extra medicines, clothes, special equipment, three gallons of water for each family member, and extra money. A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions may be felt in your area in the next 72 hours. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions will be felt in the next 24-48 hours.
Hurricanes are called other things in other parts of the world.
Some other hurricane names
• Typhoons (NW Pacific Ocean)
• Severe Tropical Cyclones (SW Pacific Ocean)
• Severe Cyclonic Storm (N Indian Ocean)
• Tropical Cyclone (S Indian Ocean)
• Willy-willy (Australia)
All hurricanes start out as a tropical depression, a disturbance in the ocean with winds of at least 25 mph and circulation. When the intensity strengthens and the winds strengthen beyond 39 mph, it is classified as a tropical storm and is given a name. Tropical storms are named according to the list in circulation. The National Weather Service creates a list of names for every six years. Each name alternates between a boy’s name and a girl’s name. The lists rotate over and over every six years. If there is a devastating hurricane that causes much loss of property or life or both, the name is removed from the list and a new name is put in to prevent bad memories, so there will never be another Hurricane Andrew or Hurricane Katrina.
As a tropical storm strengthens, it is bound to near land. A tropical storm watch means that a tropical storm will likely strike your area within 72 hours. A tropical storm warning means that you will feel tropical storm effects in the next 24-48 hours.
When a tropical storm’s winds reach 74 mph, it is classified as a hurricane. The strength of a hurricane is measured using the Saffir-Simpson scale.
The Saffir-Simpson Scale
Category 1 ~ 74-95 mph, 4-5 ft. storm surge
Category 2 ~ 96-110 mph, 6-8 ft. storm surge
Category 3 ~ 111-130 mph, 9-12 ft. storm surge
Category 4 ~ 131-155 mph, 13-18 ft. storm surge
Category 5 ~ 155+ mph, 18+ ft. storm surge
The storm surge is the most deadly part of a hurricane. Storm surge is the flooding that comes inland with a hurricane. The storm surge catches many people off guard. When a hurricane comes onto land, it is called a landfall. It is not considered a landfall until the eye of the hurricane comes onto land. Once a hurricane reaches land and travels inward, the warm ocean is gone and the storm loses energy.
The Atlantic Hurricane season lasts from June 1 to November 30. Hurricanes have happened in other months, though. The Pacific Hurricane season lasts from May 15 to November 30. In the Atlantic, peak hurricane action lasts from mid-August to mid-September.
Hurricanes are less dangerous than other storms because you can prepare in advance. If there is a mandatory evacuation order or if you don’t feel safe in your house, get out of there. If you are not told to evacuate, make a hurricane kit with extra medicines, clothes, special equipment, three gallons of water for each family member, and extra money. A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions may be felt in your area in the next 72 hours. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions will be felt in the next 24-48 hours.
Hurricanes are called other things in other parts of the world.
Some other hurricane names
• Typhoons (NW Pacific Ocean)
• Severe Tropical Cyclones (SW Pacific Ocean)
• Severe Cyclonic Storm (N Indian Ocean)
• Tropical Cyclone (S Indian Ocean)
• Willy-willy (Australia)
Tropical Storm Felix
Tropical Storm Felix is the 6th storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.
It formed over the Windward Islands at the edge of the Caribbean early Saturday and is now near Grenada, with top sustained winds of 40 mph.
The National Hurricane Center (located in Miami, Florida) said tropical storm warnings have been issued for the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected within the warning area within the next 24 hours.
Forecasters also said Felix is bringing a lot of heavy rain. They look for it to strengthen over the next day.
It formed over the Windward Islands at the edge of the Caribbean early Saturday and is now near Grenada, with top sustained winds of 40 mph.
The National Hurricane Center (located in Miami, Florida) said tropical storm warnings have been issued for the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected within the warning area within the next 24 hours.
Forecasters also said Felix is bringing a lot of heavy rain. They look for it to strengthen over the next day.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Weather and Storms
Storms. The freaks of nature; the deadly beings that strike fear into the hearts of many. People have their reasons to fear storms.
The most common kind of storm is the thunderstorm. The thunderstorm comes equipped with lightning, thunder, wind, rain, and sometimes hail and tornadoes. Thunderstorms can be mild, moderate, or severe. One of the most fascinating parts of a thunderstorm is the lightning. Most lightning bolts never touch the ground, but when they do, they can cause serious damage. They can strike houses and burn them down, zap trees, flagpoles, and even people. Most people don’t know that the average lightning bolt is one to two inches thick. People see the electrically-charged air around the bolt and mistake it to be some hundred feet wide.
The most common thing with storms is rain. Rain comes from the upper levels of the atmosphere, starting as ice crystals and melting as they drop through the lower atmosphere. Rain can be a nuisance, as it can make everything wet and muddy and even flood ponds, lakes, and rivers.
Sometimes little kids get scared of thunder. Thunder can not actually hurt anything, as it is simply sound caused by lightning. Thunder happens when the sound waves created by the lightning’s electrically-charged air expand and get louder. The closer the lightning is, the louder the thunder.
When people think of deadly storms, they think of tornadoes and hurricanes. The two storms actually have a lot in common. A tornado is a rotating column of air in contact with the ground that causes death, destruction, and much loss. Tornadoes often make history books. The deadliest tornado on record happened in March 1925, when one tornado caused 689 people to lose their lives. However, it was not the strongest tornado on record. Almost ten years ago, on May 3, 1999, a tornado with wind speed of 320 mph just above the ground tore through Oklahoma City and its southern suburbs. Though it was the strongest, not near as many people died.
Like a hurricane, a tornado rotates around the center of circulation called the eye. We see the debris that has been picked up by the tornado rotating around the eye, but we can’t see the eye. Some tornadoes may be a half-mile wide, but it may only be the debris. The eye could be much smaller.
Tornadoes take on many different shapes and sizes. The classic shaped tornado looks like an elephant’s trunk dangling to the ground. A wedge tornado resembles an upside-down triangle. These tornadoes are often a half-mile wide. Other tornadoes are skinny, and some are really huge, but size doesn’t matter with them. A tornado could be a mile wide and have 70 mph winds, and a small tornado could have winds of 300 mph.
Some common tornado myths:
Myth: The southwest corner of your home is the safest place to be during a tornado.
Truth: The southwest corner could actually be the most dangerous section of your home. If the tornado was moving northeast, the southwest corner would be the first target for the tornado to hit. The safest place in your house from a tornado is in an underground shelter, basement, or the innermost room in your house.
Myth: Opening all the windows in your house before a tornado reduces damage.
Truth: People think that if they don’t open their windows, the house will explode because of the pressure change. This is not true. Opening your windows before a tornado does nothing more than let more debris in your house. It also gives YOU less time to find shelter.
Meteorologists have a hard time tracking, locating, and predicting tornadoes. New technology has helped with the aid of storm chasers. A tornado watch means that tornado conditions are possible within the next several hours and that you should be on the lookout for any. A tornado watch is often indicated on radar by a large red box spanning out over a large area. A tornado warning means that a tornado has been sighted or indicated on radar. A tornado can be indicated on radar by a hook echo, but they are not always that obvious. A backwards “C” shaped echo indicates high winds, and a small yellow circle means that there is much rotation in the atmosphere and that a tornado could form. If a tornado has already been spotted, sometimes an upside-down red triangle will appear on radar.
Storm chasers are those that go out looking for tornadoes and other severe weather. They often observe the tornado in an area called the “sweet spot”. Storm chasers are careful to stay away from the path of the storm. The best storm chasers can tell just by looking which direction a tornado is about to turn. There are many risks involved with storm chasing, as the results of a tiny mistake could send you running from a devil.
Meteorologists rank tornadoes with the Fujita scale, which measures how much a tornado “eats”, or destroys.
The Fujita Scale
F-0 ~ light damage, winds from 40-72 mph
F-1 ~ considerate damage, winds from 73-112 mph
F-2 ~ moderate damage, winds from 113-157 mph
F-3 ~ severe damage, winds from 158-206 mph
F-4 ~ heavy damage, winds from 207-260 mph
F-5 ~ catastrophic damage (your car may have been tossed into another county!), winds from 261-318 mph
Tornadoes are formed mostly by supercell thunderstorms, the strongest of all thunderstorms. The three key conditions for these thunderstorms to form are:
• Moisture in the middle to lower levels of the atmosphere
• Unstable air (air that doesn’t stop rising once it has begun)
• A lifting force (something that causes the air to begin rising)
When all these conditions are present, humid air will rise high into the sky, cool, and condense into tower-like supercell thunderstorms. The air rising into a thunderstorm is called the updraft. Once the thunderstorm has formed, the still-rising unstable air will rise into the storm, creating an updraft. When air comes down out of the thunderstorm with rain or hail, a downdraft is created. The strongest tornadoes form on the edge of the updraft (near the downdraft where rain and hail may be falling). This is why a heavy burst of rain or hail sometimes announces a tornado’s arrival.
This leaves people wondering, “Where do tornadoes occur the most?” If you’ve ever heard about Tornado Alley, you know ~ the place right in the heart of our wonderful country experiences tornadoes the most. Tornado Alley extends from Texas to Nebraska and also includes states such as Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and parts of Indiana. Tornadoes have been spawned in all 50 states and, in fact, are more common in Florida than in Oklahoma. Florida tornadoes are generally quite weak, with an average wind speed of about 100 mph. Many Florida tornadoes are waterspouts. A waterspout is a tornado spinning over water. They can damage marine life, but are generally quite harmless. Oklahoma tornadoes, on the other hand, are much more violent and destructive.
The safest place from a tornado is in an underground shelter, the innermost room in your house, or a basement. If you are in a hallway, sit down against the wall, curl up into a ball, and cover your head with your arms and hands. There is no safe place in a mobile home or trailer. Where some come from they call trailer parks “tornado magnets”. If you are stuck in one, get out as soon as possible and find a safe building. If there are none nearby, take a blanket with you from the mobile home and lie in a ditch or field. Cover yourself with the blanket so you are protected from flying debris. Do the same if you are in a car (unless you’re a storm chaser). Tornadoes can pick up cars and throw them very far. If you are in a ditch, watch the water level if it is raining. You can drown from a flooded ditch.
Though tornadoes are nature’s most violent storms, they don’t span a lot of area. Hurricanes cover many square miles at a time. A hurricane is a severe tropical storm that forms over oceans. For a hurricane to form, warm oceans, moisture, and light winds are needed. If these conditions last long enough, a hurricane can produce violent to catastrophic winds, giant waves, and heavy rain.
Hurricanes rotate counterclockwise around the “eye”, an area of calm, clear air in the heart of a violent storm. The strongest part of a hurricane is the eyewall, the powerful cluster of thunderstorms that surround the eye. Hurricanes can spawn tornadoes within the bands of circulation. Lightning is rarely seen with hurricanes; only the worst in history ever did have it.
All hurricanes start out as a tropical depression, a disturbance in the ocean with winds of at least 25 mph and circulation. When the intensity strengthens and the winds strengthen beyond 39 mph, it is classified as a tropical storm and is given a name. Tropical storms are named according to the list in circulation. The National Weather Service creates a list of names for every six years. Each name alternates between a boy’s name and a girl’s name. The lists rotate over and over every six years. If there is a devastating hurricane that causes much loss of property or life or both, the name is removed from the list and a new name is put in to prevent bad memories, so there will never be another Hurricane Andrew or Hurricane Katrina.
As a tropical storm strengthens, it is bound to near land. A tropical storm watch means that a tropical storm will likely strike your area within 72 hours. A tropical storm warning means that you will feel tropical storm effects in the next 24-48 hours.
When a tropical storm’s winds reach 74 mph, it is classified as a hurricane. The strength of a hurricane is measured using the Saffir-Simpson scale.
The Saffir-Simpson Scale
Category 1 ~ 74-95 mph, 4-5 ft. storm surge
Category 2 ~ 96-110 mph, 6-8 ft. storm surge
Category 3 ~ 111-130 mph, 9-12 ft. storm surge
Category 4 ~ 131-155 mph, 13-18 ft. storm surge
Category 5 ~ 155+ mph, 18+ ft. storm surge
The storm surge is the most deadly part of a hurricane. Storm surge is the flooding that comes inland with a hurricane. The storm surge catches many people off guard. When a hurricane comes onto land, it is called a landfall. It is not considered a landfall until the eye of the hurricane comes onto land. Once a hurricane reaches land and travels inward, the warm ocean is gone and the storm loses energy.
The Atlantic Hurricane season lasts from June 1 to November 30. Hurricanes have happened in other months, though. The Pacific Hurricane season lasts from May 15 to November 30. In the Atlantic, peak hurricane action lasts from mid-August to mid-September.
Hurricanes are less dangerous than other storms because you can prepare in advance. If there is a mandatory evacuation order or if you don’t feel safe in your house, get out of there. If you are not told to evacuate, make a hurricane kit with extra medicines, clothes, special equipment, three gallons of water for each family member, and extra money. A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions may be felt in your area in the next 72 hours. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions will be felt in the next 24-48 hours.
Hurricanes are called other things in other parts of the world.
Some other hurricane names
• Typhoons (NW Pacific Ocean)
• Severe Tropical Cyclones (SW Pacific Ocean)
• Severe Cyclonic Storm (N Indian Ocean)
• Tropical Cyclone (S Indian Ocean)
• Willy-willy (Australia)
Although many people don’t realize it, floods are the deadliest of all storms. People underestimate them and think they can’t hurt them. Flooding alone caused by Hurricane Jeanne in 2004 killed 2,000 people. Floods can happen quickly and suddenly and catch the unaware off guard.
Not all storms have to happen in warm weather to be devastating. Storms that occur in cold weather can be just as bad. Sometimes kids get out of school because of snow, ice, wind, and the other elements that compose the blizzard. Blizzards are the most severe of winter storms and can trap people inside their homes for weeks. They bring heavy snow combined with wind, ice, and sometimes sleet and freezing rain. The government will often issue snow emergencies. A snow emergency is an order to stay inside your home and not get out on the roads unless there is an emergency.
Many adults hate ice storms. Ice storms make everything slippery and can cause injury, take down branches and trees, make people lose power and heat, and cause car accidents.
There are also many unusual storms. A deadly effect of severe thunderstorms that once took down many planes is called a microburst. A microburst is a sudden gust of wind that comes down from a thunderstorm. After the year 2000, many planes had equipment to help them detect microbursts.
An odd storm is the gustnado. A gustnado is a strong gust of wind that reaches down to the ground. They are often mistaken for tornadoes. Gustnados last only seconds, but they can pick up small objects and throw them.
A very rare occurrence is acid rain. It eats everything it touches, whether the object is a plant, wood, or skin.
Dust storms are common in the plains. A cool happening is the dust devil. Dust devils are of the likeness of tornadoes, but only they are whirling clouds of dust with the beginning only at the ground. A famous dust storm, the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma, caused much loss.
We can’t stop or prevent storms, and we can’t predict exactly what will happen every time. All we can do is try to be safe from them and learn from them. They are, in fact, part of God’s creation.
The most common kind of storm is the thunderstorm. The thunderstorm comes equipped with lightning, thunder, wind, rain, and sometimes hail and tornadoes. Thunderstorms can be mild, moderate, or severe. One of the most fascinating parts of a thunderstorm is the lightning. Most lightning bolts never touch the ground, but when they do, they can cause serious damage. They can strike houses and burn them down, zap trees, flagpoles, and even people. Most people don’t know that the average lightning bolt is one to two inches thick. People see the electrically-charged air around the bolt and mistake it to be some hundred feet wide.
The most common thing with storms is rain. Rain comes from the upper levels of the atmosphere, starting as ice crystals and melting as they drop through the lower atmosphere. Rain can be a nuisance, as it can make everything wet and muddy and even flood ponds, lakes, and rivers.
Sometimes little kids get scared of thunder. Thunder can not actually hurt anything, as it is simply sound caused by lightning. Thunder happens when the sound waves created by the lightning’s electrically-charged air expand and get louder. The closer the lightning is, the louder the thunder.
When people think of deadly storms, they think of tornadoes and hurricanes. The two storms actually have a lot in common. A tornado is a rotating column of air in contact with the ground that causes death, destruction, and much loss. Tornadoes often make history books. The deadliest tornado on record happened in March 1925, when one tornado caused 689 people to lose their lives. However, it was not the strongest tornado on record. Almost ten years ago, on May 3, 1999, a tornado with wind speed of 320 mph just above the ground tore through Oklahoma City and its southern suburbs. Though it was the strongest, not near as many people died.
Like a hurricane, a tornado rotates around the center of circulation called the eye. We see the debris that has been picked up by the tornado rotating around the eye, but we can’t see the eye. Some tornadoes may be a half-mile wide, but it may only be the debris. The eye could be much smaller.
Tornadoes take on many different shapes and sizes. The classic shaped tornado looks like an elephant’s trunk dangling to the ground. A wedge tornado resembles an upside-down triangle. These tornadoes are often a half-mile wide. Other tornadoes are skinny, and some are really huge, but size doesn’t matter with them. A tornado could be a mile wide and have 70 mph winds, and a small tornado could have winds of 300 mph.
Some common tornado myths:
Myth: The southwest corner of your home is the safest place to be during a tornado.
Truth: The southwest corner could actually be the most dangerous section of your home. If the tornado was moving northeast, the southwest corner would be the first target for the tornado to hit. The safest place in your house from a tornado is in an underground shelter, basement, or the innermost room in your house.
Myth: Opening all the windows in your house before a tornado reduces damage.
Truth: People think that if they don’t open their windows, the house will explode because of the pressure change. This is not true. Opening your windows before a tornado does nothing more than let more debris in your house. It also gives YOU less time to find shelter.
Meteorologists have a hard time tracking, locating, and predicting tornadoes. New technology has helped with the aid of storm chasers. A tornado watch means that tornado conditions are possible within the next several hours and that you should be on the lookout for any. A tornado watch is often indicated on radar by a large red box spanning out over a large area. A tornado warning means that a tornado has been sighted or indicated on radar. A tornado can be indicated on radar by a hook echo, but they are not always that obvious. A backwards “C” shaped echo indicates high winds, and a small yellow circle means that there is much rotation in the atmosphere and that a tornado could form. If a tornado has already been spotted, sometimes an upside-down red triangle will appear on radar.
Storm chasers are those that go out looking for tornadoes and other severe weather. They often observe the tornado in an area called the “sweet spot”. Storm chasers are careful to stay away from the path of the storm. The best storm chasers can tell just by looking which direction a tornado is about to turn. There are many risks involved with storm chasing, as the results of a tiny mistake could send you running from a devil.
Meteorologists rank tornadoes with the Fujita scale, which measures how much a tornado “eats”, or destroys.
The Fujita Scale
F-0 ~ light damage, winds from 40-72 mph
F-1 ~ considerate damage, winds from 73-112 mph
F-2 ~ moderate damage, winds from 113-157 mph
F-3 ~ severe damage, winds from 158-206 mph
F-4 ~ heavy damage, winds from 207-260 mph
F-5 ~ catastrophic damage (your car may have been tossed into another county!), winds from 261-318 mph
Tornadoes are formed mostly by supercell thunderstorms, the strongest of all thunderstorms. The three key conditions for these thunderstorms to form are:
• Moisture in the middle to lower levels of the atmosphere
• Unstable air (air that doesn’t stop rising once it has begun)
• A lifting force (something that causes the air to begin rising)
When all these conditions are present, humid air will rise high into the sky, cool, and condense into tower-like supercell thunderstorms. The air rising into a thunderstorm is called the updraft. Once the thunderstorm has formed, the still-rising unstable air will rise into the storm, creating an updraft. When air comes down out of the thunderstorm with rain or hail, a downdraft is created. The strongest tornadoes form on the edge of the updraft (near the downdraft where rain and hail may be falling). This is why a heavy burst of rain or hail sometimes announces a tornado’s arrival.
This leaves people wondering, “Where do tornadoes occur the most?” If you’ve ever heard about Tornado Alley, you know ~ the place right in the heart of our wonderful country experiences tornadoes the most. Tornado Alley extends from Texas to Nebraska and also includes states such as Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and parts of Indiana. Tornadoes have been spawned in all 50 states and, in fact, are more common in Florida than in Oklahoma. Florida tornadoes are generally quite weak, with an average wind speed of about 100 mph. Many Florida tornadoes are waterspouts. A waterspout is a tornado spinning over water. They can damage marine life, but are generally quite harmless. Oklahoma tornadoes, on the other hand, are much more violent and destructive.
The safest place from a tornado is in an underground shelter, the innermost room in your house, or a basement. If you are in a hallway, sit down against the wall, curl up into a ball, and cover your head with your arms and hands. There is no safe place in a mobile home or trailer. Where some come from they call trailer parks “tornado magnets”. If you are stuck in one, get out as soon as possible and find a safe building. If there are none nearby, take a blanket with you from the mobile home and lie in a ditch or field. Cover yourself with the blanket so you are protected from flying debris. Do the same if you are in a car (unless you’re a storm chaser). Tornadoes can pick up cars and throw them very far. If you are in a ditch, watch the water level if it is raining. You can drown from a flooded ditch.
Though tornadoes are nature’s most violent storms, they don’t span a lot of area. Hurricanes cover many square miles at a time. A hurricane is a severe tropical storm that forms over oceans. For a hurricane to form, warm oceans, moisture, and light winds are needed. If these conditions last long enough, a hurricane can produce violent to catastrophic winds, giant waves, and heavy rain.
Hurricanes rotate counterclockwise around the “eye”, an area of calm, clear air in the heart of a violent storm. The strongest part of a hurricane is the eyewall, the powerful cluster of thunderstorms that surround the eye. Hurricanes can spawn tornadoes within the bands of circulation. Lightning is rarely seen with hurricanes; only the worst in history ever did have it.
All hurricanes start out as a tropical depression, a disturbance in the ocean with winds of at least 25 mph and circulation. When the intensity strengthens and the winds strengthen beyond 39 mph, it is classified as a tropical storm and is given a name. Tropical storms are named according to the list in circulation. The National Weather Service creates a list of names for every six years. Each name alternates between a boy’s name and a girl’s name. The lists rotate over and over every six years. If there is a devastating hurricane that causes much loss of property or life or both, the name is removed from the list and a new name is put in to prevent bad memories, so there will never be another Hurricane Andrew or Hurricane Katrina.
As a tropical storm strengthens, it is bound to near land. A tropical storm watch means that a tropical storm will likely strike your area within 72 hours. A tropical storm warning means that you will feel tropical storm effects in the next 24-48 hours.
When a tropical storm’s winds reach 74 mph, it is classified as a hurricane. The strength of a hurricane is measured using the Saffir-Simpson scale.
The Saffir-Simpson Scale
Category 1 ~ 74-95 mph, 4-5 ft. storm surge
Category 2 ~ 96-110 mph, 6-8 ft. storm surge
Category 3 ~ 111-130 mph, 9-12 ft. storm surge
Category 4 ~ 131-155 mph, 13-18 ft. storm surge
Category 5 ~ 155+ mph, 18+ ft. storm surge
The storm surge is the most deadly part of a hurricane. Storm surge is the flooding that comes inland with a hurricane. The storm surge catches many people off guard. When a hurricane comes onto land, it is called a landfall. It is not considered a landfall until the eye of the hurricane comes onto land. Once a hurricane reaches land and travels inward, the warm ocean is gone and the storm loses energy.
The Atlantic Hurricane season lasts from June 1 to November 30. Hurricanes have happened in other months, though. The Pacific Hurricane season lasts from May 15 to November 30. In the Atlantic, peak hurricane action lasts from mid-August to mid-September.
Hurricanes are less dangerous than other storms because you can prepare in advance. If there is a mandatory evacuation order or if you don’t feel safe in your house, get out of there. If you are not told to evacuate, make a hurricane kit with extra medicines, clothes, special equipment, three gallons of water for each family member, and extra money. A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions may be felt in your area in the next 72 hours. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions will be felt in the next 24-48 hours.
Hurricanes are called other things in other parts of the world.
Some other hurricane names
• Typhoons (NW Pacific Ocean)
• Severe Tropical Cyclones (SW Pacific Ocean)
• Severe Cyclonic Storm (N Indian Ocean)
• Tropical Cyclone (S Indian Ocean)
• Willy-willy (Australia)
Although many people don’t realize it, floods are the deadliest of all storms. People underestimate them and think they can’t hurt them. Flooding alone caused by Hurricane Jeanne in 2004 killed 2,000 people. Floods can happen quickly and suddenly and catch the unaware off guard.
Not all storms have to happen in warm weather to be devastating. Storms that occur in cold weather can be just as bad. Sometimes kids get out of school because of snow, ice, wind, and the other elements that compose the blizzard. Blizzards are the most severe of winter storms and can trap people inside their homes for weeks. They bring heavy snow combined with wind, ice, and sometimes sleet and freezing rain. The government will often issue snow emergencies. A snow emergency is an order to stay inside your home and not get out on the roads unless there is an emergency.
Many adults hate ice storms. Ice storms make everything slippery and can cause injury, take down branches and trees, make people lose power and heat, and cause car accidents.
There are also many unusual storms. A deadly effect of severe thunderstorms that once took down many planes is called a microburst. A microburst is a sudden gust of wind that comes down from a thunderstorm. After the year 2000, many planes had equipment to help them detect microbursts.
An odd storm is the gustnado. A gustnado is a strong gust of wind that reaches down to the ground. They are often mistaken for tornadoes. Gustnados last only seconds, but they can pick up small objects and throw them.
A very rare occurrence is acid rain. It eats everything it touches, whether the object is a plant, wood, or skin.
Dust storms are common in the plains. A cool happening is the dust devil. Dust devils are of the likeness of tornadoes, but only they are whirling clouds of dust with the beginning only at the ground. A famous dust storm, the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma, caused much loss.
We can’t stop or prevent storms, and we can’t predict exactly what will happen every time. All we can do is try to be safe from them and learn from them. They are, in fact, part of God’s creation.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)