WEATHER LORE

HURRICANE

Many holidaymakers are forsaking Mediterranean locations such as Spain and Greece for longer haul destinations in the Caribbean and the south-eastern states of the USA like Florida. Bermuda in place of Benidorm, Miami instead of Magalluf!

A wise move it would seem; warm tropical seas, high temperatures and sunshine are guaranteed….

...but it is just these characteristics that make Hurricanes such a danger in late summer and early autumn.

These intense storms are found in most tropical oceans; called Hurricanes in the Atlantic and Caribbean, Typhoons in the Pacific, Cyclones in the Indian Ocean and Willy Willies in northern Australia, they all originate in the same way.

They only form over tropical oceans where the sea surface temperature exceeds 27 Celsius. They appear to need the heat and moisture of the oceans to form and develop to their full intensity, consequently late summer and early autumn when the water is at its warmest is the main Hurricane season.

In the west Atlantic and Caribbean August and September are the months when most Hurricanes occur, coinciding with the time most of us take our holidays. On top of this global warming may, by increasing ocean temperatures, be making them both more common and more widespread.

Take Hurricane Katrina for example. In late August 2005 Katrina crossed Florida and entered the Gulf of Mexico. Here, fuelled by the high summer temperatures of this partially enclosed sea, the storm intensified to reach a maximum 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane scale. Once inside the confines of the Gulf its movement became as unpredictable as a ‘bull in a china shop’.

When it hit the Gulf Coast of the USA at New Orleans wind speeds topped 150 mph and a 25-foot storm surge destroyed levees, flooding 80% of the city. Almost 2000 people were killed, a million homes destroyed and $75 billion of damage done to an area around the same size as the UK.

Katrina overtook Hurricane Andrew as the most destructive and costly Hurricane of all time. Andrew had devastated the holiday coast of Florida between Palm Beach and Miami in late August 1992, causing $18 billion worth of damage.

All Hurricanes, however, need the input of heat and moisture from the oceans and lose energy and intensity rapidly when they pass over land. So, if a Hurricane threatens, head inland or maybe just stay out of the tropics altogether!

Until the middle of last century Hurricanes had always had names like Betsy, Camille and Gloria. To some it seems fitting that a weather phenomenon so powerful, destructive and extremely unpredictable should be considered female!