# 5565
Today marks the kickoff of NOAA’s annual Hurricane Preparedness Week held this year between May 22nd and May 28th.
Today’s emphasis is on a basic overview of hurricanes, and a bit of Hurricane History. In the following video, NHC Director Bill Read discusses the hazards associated with hurricanes.
You can find a basic overview of hurricanes and tropical storms on NOAA’s Hurricane Basics Page. A few excerpts:
Hurricane Fran 1996Each year, an average of eleven tropical storms develop over the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. Many of these remain over the ocean and never impact the U.S. coastline. Six of these storms become hurricanes each year. In an average 3-year period, roughly five hurricanes strike the US coastline, killing approximately 50 to 100 people anywhere from Texas to Maine. Of these, two are typically "major" or "intense" hurricanes (a category 3 or higher storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale).
What is a Hurricane?
A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone, which is a generic term for a low pressure system that generally forms in the tropics. The cyclone is accompanied by thunderstorms and, in the Northern Hemisphere, a counterclockwise circulation of winds near the earth's surface. Tropical cyclones are classified as follows:
- * Sustained winds
A 1-minute average wind measured at about 33 ft (10 meters) above the surface.- ** 1 knot = 1 nautical mile per hour or 1.15 statute miles per hour. Abbreviated as "kt".
Tropical Depression
An organized system of clouds and thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds* of 38 mph (33 kt**) or less
Tropical Storm
An organized system of strong thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of 39-73 mph (34-63 kt)
Hurricane
An intense tropical weather system of strong thunderstorms with a well-defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of 74 mph (64 kt) or higher
Every year I give hurricane preparedness a prominent place in this blog because for more than 50 million Americans living in coastal areas (and millions more in other countries), hurricanes and their byproducts (flooding, tornadoes, lightning) are probably their greatest natural disaster threat.
From Escambia County Hurricane Preparedness Information
While South Florida and the northern Gulf coast are at highest risk of direct hurricane impact, even those areas not shaded in – even hundreds of miles inland – can still feel the effects of a hurricane.
Inland fresh water flooding is of particular concern as these tropical systems rain themselves out far from the coast. Even if they no longer carry hurricane force winds, their destructive power remains.
Hurricane Agnes (1972), which I remember well as the first disaster I worked as a Red Cross volunteer, caused relatively little damage to Florida where it made landfall as a minimal CAT 1 storm.
Her impact was was to be far greater more than a 1000 miles inland, where she would generate devastating floods in the days that followed.
Of the 122 deaths associated with this storm, only 9 occurred in Florida where Agnes made landfall.
The rest - 113 deaths - were due to inland fresh water flooding, with New York and Pennsylvania suffering the highest loses.
NOAA describes the flooding damage this way:
Hurricane Agnes was the costliest natural disaster in the United States at that time. Damage was estimated at $3.1 billion and 117 deaths were reported. Hardest hit was Pennsylvania, with $2.1 billion in damages and 48 deaths, making Hurricane Agnes the worst natural disaster ever to hit the state. The damage over Pennsylvania was so extreme, the entire state was declared a disaster area by President Richard Nixon.
Odds are, no one sitting at home in New York state or Pennsylvania on the night of June 19th, 1972 gave much thought to a marginal little hurricane that was making landfall more than a thousand miles to their south.
But a week later Agnes would prove to be a life altering event for millions of people far removed from where she came ashore.
Other storms with far-reaching impact include:
Hurricane Hazel, which had already devastated Haiti (400-1000 deaths) came ashore on the North-South Carolina border in August of 1954. She claimed 95 lives in the United States and was responsible for as many as 100 deaths in Canada.
Hurricane Camille 1969
The CAT 5 monster Camille, which claimed 143 lives along the Gulf coast also killed 113 people in associated flooding in Virginia.
In 1995, Hurricane Opal (once again, a `Florida’ storm) produced 100 mph winds in Atlanta, Georgia and tornadoes in Maryland that killed at least 1 person.
And Audrey, the horrific `surprise’ gulf coast CAT 4 storm of 1957 -that claimed more than 550 lives - killed at least 15 people in Canada.
While the closer you are to the coast, the greater your risk, being hundreds of miles inland is no guarantee that a hurricane’s effects won’t reach you.
Which is why everyone, regardless of how far inland they live, needs to be preparing for this upcoming hurricane season.
Don’t delude yourself into believing it can’t happen to you.
Some essential hurricane resources to get you started include:
http://www.fema.gov/hazard/hurricane/index.shtm
I’ll have a lot more hurricane specific information all week, and of course, you can access a long list of preparedness articles on this blog simply by clicking on the PREPAREDNESS quick search on my sidebar.
