tnkbl said:
I thought it was only a tropical storm, did I miss an upgrade?
Poohbear123 said:
Thats great, that and Hurricane Chris we have to put up with.
I know more about weather i am a Jr. meterolgist
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ Tropical Climatology
Tropical cyclones are primarily a feature of tropical and subtropical waters. In the North Atlantic, they occur during the summer and fall months, known as the hurricane season. Depending on the time of year, tropical systems originate in different parts of the North Atlantic.
risk
Hurricanes can strike anywhere along the U.S. eastern seaboard, the Gulf of Mexico, the Hawaiian Islands and, rarely, the southern California coast.
Other regions that are susceptible to tropical systems include the Pacific, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico coast of Mexico. The Bay of Campeche is often the site of early season formation (June and July). The entire Caribbean is at risk throughout the six month season.
United States
In the United States, however, there are areas though, which because of their topographical makeup and heavy population concentrations, are especially vulnerable to hurricane destruction should a storm make landfall nearby.
Some of these areas are the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico, especially New Orleans and Florida, the coastline of the Carolinas, and the Northeast Corridor.
International Hurricanes
In other parts of the world,hurricanes are called by different names, but are no less dangerous.
The word hurricane is used only to describe tropical cyclones with winds of at least 74 miles per hour that occur in the North Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea or the eastern North Pacific.
In the Western Pacific, west of the International Dateline and north of the equator, tropical storms of such intensity are called typhoons. Cyclones are the proper names for storms in the Indian Ocean, both north and south of the Equator, and around Australia.
Bangladesh
Imagine if half the population of the United States were crammed into the state of Wisconsin. There would be more than 2,000 people attempting to maintain life on every square mile of land.
That was the population density in Bangladesh, squeezed between India and Burma on the Bay of Bengal, when one of the worst natural disasters of the Twentieth Century struck this tiny country.
Just after midnight, on April 10, 1991, a devastating tropical cyclone made landfall in Bangladesh. The resulting storm surge, estimated as high as 20 feet topped by huge waves, washed over offshore islands and carried ocean water miles inland.
The Ganges River flows into the Bay of Bengal, carrying silt in to the low-lying floodplain of Bangladesh, creating one of the world's most fertile crop lands. A third of the country is less than 20 feet above sea level. The shape of the coastline acts as a natural funnel, easily letting water flow up river channels during a cyclone.
The 1991 cyclone was the seventh since 1963 that left death tolls ranging from 10,000 to as many as 500,000 in the 1970 storm. A month after the 1991 storm hit, the official death toll was reported at just under 150,000 deaths, although lives lost to disease, starvation and exposure would eventually increase the count.
Cyclone Tracy
It was Christmas Day, 1974, in Darwin, Australia, and Cyclone Tracy was about to make landfall.
Cyclone Tracy began as a weak tropical low about 450 miles northeast of Darwin. Moving slowly to the southwest, it was classified as a cyclone late on December 21, at the start of the hurricane season in the Southern Hemisphere.
As Tracy came around Bathurst Island, northwest of the Australia, satellite imagery showed a rapid intensification when the storm moved across warm ocean water in the Beagle Gulf. Tracy then changed course and headed in a beeline for Darwin, Australia.
Tracy moved slowly onto land, about five miles per hour, causing great devastation due to its lingering pace. Strong winds, gusting up to 135 miles per hour, ravaged Darwin for at least five hours. The tropical cyclone's small, tight eye passed directly over the city.
The city of Darwin was almost completely leveled and had to be rebuilt. Tracy killed 50 residents of Darwin and fifteen people were lost at sea.
he Saffir-Simpson Damage-Potential Scale
This scale was developed in the early 1970s by Herbert Saffir, a consulting engineer in Coral Gables, Florida, and Dr. Robert Simpson, then Director of the National Hurricane Center. The scale is based primarily on wind speeds and includes estimates of barometric pressure and storm surge associated with each of the five categories.
Category Central Pressure Winds Surge
1 -- Minimal greater than 980 mb or 28.94 in 74 to 95 mph or 64 to 83 kts 4 to 5 feet
2 -- Moderate 965 to 979 mb or 28.50 to 28.91 in 96 to 110 mph or 65 to 96 kts 6 to 8 feet
3 -- Extensive 945 to 964 mb or 27.91 to 28.47 in 111 to 130 mph or 97 to 113 kts 9 to 12 feet
4 -- Extreme 920 to 944 mb or 27.17 to 27.88 in 131 to 155 mph or 114 to 135 kts 13 to 18 feet
5 -- Catastrophic less than 920 mb or 27.17 in greater than 155 mph or 135 kts greater than 18 feet
Category 1 [Minimal]
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damage primarily restricted to shrubbery, trees, and unanchored mobile homes; no substantial damage to other structures; some damage to poorly constructed signs
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low lying roads inundated; minor damage to piers; small craft in exposed anchorages torn from moorings
Category 2 [Moderate]
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considerable damage to shrubbery and tree foliage, some trees blown down; major damage to exposed mobile homes; extensive damage to poorly constructed signs and some damage to windows, doors and roofing materials of buildings, but no major destruction to buildings
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coastal roads and low lying escape routes inland cut off by rising water about 2 to 4 hours before landfall; considerable damage to piers and marinas flooded; small craft in protected anchorage torn from moorings
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evacuation of some shoreline residences and low lying areas required
Category 3 [Extensive]
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foliage torn from trees; large trees blown down; poorly constructed signs blown down; some damage to roofing, windows, and doors; some structural damage to small buildings; mobile homes destroyed.
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serious flooding along the coast; many small structures near the coast destroyed; larger coastal structures damaged by battering waves and floating debris
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low lying escape routes inland cut off by rising water about 3 to 5 hours before landfall; flat terrain 5 feet or less above sea level flooded up to 8 or more miles inland
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evacuation of low lying residences within several blocks of shoreline may be required
Category 4 [Extreme]
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shrubs, trees, and all signs blown down; extensive damage to roofs, windows, and doors, with complete failure of roofs on many smaller residences; mobile homes demolished
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flat terrain 10 feet or less above sea level flooded inland as far as 6 miles; flooding and battering by waves and floating debris cause major damage to lower floors of structures near the shore; low lying escape routes inland cut off by rising water about 3 to 5 hours before landfall; major erosion of beaches
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massive evacuation of all residences within 500 yards of the shore may be required, as well as of single story residences in low ground with 2 miles of the shore
Category 5 [Catastrophic]
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trees, shrub, and all signs blown down; considerable damage to roofs of buildings, with very severe and extensive damage to winds and doors; complete failure on many roofs of residences and industrial buildings; extensive shattering of glass in windows and doors; complete buildings destroyed; small building overturned or blown away; mobile homes demolished
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major damage to lower floors of all structures less than 15 feet above sea level within 1500 feet of the shore
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low lying escape routes inland cut off by rising water about 3 to 5 hours before landfall; major erosion of beaches
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massive evacuation of residential areas on low ground within 5 to 10 miles of the shore may be required