Travel Tips

Learning About Hurricanes

The formula for hurricanes involve a pre-existing weather disruption, warm tropical oceans, moisture, and somewhat gentle winds aloft. Whenever the ideal variables continue long enough, they may mix to manufacture the chaotic winds, amazing waves, heavy rains, and floods we link with this occurrence.

Each year, about 11 tropical storms develop over the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. Many of these continue over the ocean and never effect the United States coastline. 6 of these thunder storms develop into hurricanes every year. In an average 3-year interval, approximately 5 hurricanes arrive at the US coastline, killing something like 50 to 100 people anywhere from Texas to Maine. Of these, 2 are ordinarily “major” or “intense” hurricanes (a category 3 or higher storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale).

What is a Hurricane?

A hurricane is a form of tropical cyclone, which is a generic term for a low pressure system that generally forms in the tropics. The cyclone is combined with thunderstorms and, in the Northern Hemisphere, a counterclockwise circulation of winds near the earth’s surface. Hurricanes are classified as follows:

A severe tropical weather system of strong thunderstorms with a well-defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of 74 mph (64 kt) or higher

Hurricanes are categorized based on the strength of their winds using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. A Category 1 storm has the lowest wind speeds, while a Category 5 hurricane has the most powerful. These are relative words, because lower category storms can occasionally inflict higher damage than higher category storms, dependent on where they hit and the specific hazards they bring. In fact, tropical storms can also generate substantial damage and loss of life, mostly due to flooding.

Hurricane Names

Whenever the the winds from these storms reach 39 mph the cyclones are given names. Long ago, an international committee designed names for Atlantic storms. A six year revolving list of Atlantic storm names was used – switching between male and female hurricane names.

Storm names are utilized to help geographic referencing, for warning services, for legal issues, and to minimize confusion when two or more tropical cyclones occur at the same time. As a result of a vote of the World Meteorological Organization Region IV Subcommittee, Atlantic cyclone names are retired typically when hurricanes result in major damage or death or for other special situations.

In the event that you have suffered severe damage to your home or property due to a hurricane, generally, you best option is to talk to an experienced hurricane claim lawyer. Get advice from experienced Florida hurricane claim lawyers today.

© 2010 Travel Oversea.