Hurricanes
My Blogs (olelog) are mainly based on my daily
reading of earth science news.
Here on whatonearth.olehnielsen.dk I try to weave
some of the pieces together to a greater whole with added background info.
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Hurricanes |
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My Blogs (olelog) are mainly based on my daily
reading of earth science news.
Here on whatonearth.olehnielsen.dk I try to weave
some of the pieces together to a greater whole with added background info.
|
||
The
name "hurricane" is given to tropical storms that develop over
the Atlantic or the eastern Pacific Oceans. In the western North Pacific and
Philippines, these storms are called "typhoons" while in the
Indian and South Pacific Ocean, they are called "cyclones".
Type |
Category |
Central Pressure in hPa |
Wind Speeds in m/s or km/hr |
Wave Height in m |
Potential Effect |
| Tropical Depression | TD |
<17.5 m/s |
|||
| Tropical Storm | TS |
17.5-32.4 m/s |
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| Hurricane | 1 |
>980 |
32.5-42.4 m/s or 119-153 km/hr |
ca. 1.5 |
No real damage to buildings. Damage to unanchored mobile homes. Some damage to poorly constructed signs. Also, some coastal flooding and minor pier damage. |
| Hurricane | 2 |
965-980 |
42.5-49.9 m/s or 154-177 km/hr |
ca. 2-2.5 |
Some damage to building roofs, doors and windows. Considerable damage to mobile homes. Flooding damages piers and small craft in unprotected moorings may break their moorings. Some trees blown down. |
| Hurricane | 3 |
945-965 |
50.0-57.9 m/s or 178-209 km/hr |
ca. 2.5-4 |
Some structural damage to small residences and utility buildings. Large trees blown down. Mobile homes and poorly built signs destroyed. Flooding near the coast destroys smaller structures with larger structures damaged by floating debris. Terrain may be flooded well inland. |
| Hurricane | 4 |
920-945 |
58.0-68.9 m/s or 210-249 km/hr |
ca. 4-5.5 |
More extensive curtainwall failures with some complete roof structure failure on small residences. Major erosion of beach areas. Terrain may be flooded well inland. |
| Hurricane | 5 |
<920 |
>69.0 m/s or 249 km/hr |
>5.5 |
Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings. Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. Flooding causes major damage to lower floors of all structures near the shoreline. Massive evacuation of residential areas may be required. |
As a tropical depression develops into a tropical storm, it is given the next available name on a list prepared in alphabetical order and alternating between male and female names. In the event that more than 21 named tropical storms occur in the Atlantic basin in a season, additional storms will take names from the Greek alphabet: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and so on.
Tropical Storm Zeta - Saturday, 31 December 2005
Record-breaking Hurricane Season 2005 - Wednesday 30 November2005
Hurricane Stan (in Debris Flows of Wednesday, 5 October 2005, 08:42:46
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in Global Warming, Forests and Carbon Cycle of Tuesday 27. September 2005, 10:59:46
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