Hurricanes and Tornadoes

Hurricanes
Hurricane, tropical cyclone in which winds attain speeds greater than 74 mi (119 km) per hr. Wind speeds

gust over 200 mi (320 km) per hr. in some hurricanes. The term is often restricted to those storms

occurring over the N Atlantic Ocean; the identical phenomenon occurring over the W Pacific Ocean is called a

typhoon; around Australia and over the Indian Ocean, a tropical cyclone.

Hurricanes have a life span of 1 to 30 days. They weaken and are

transformed into extra tropical cyclones after prolonged contact with the

colder ocean waters of the middle latitudes, and they rapidly decay after

moving over land areas.

Formation of Hurricanes
A cyclone that eventually reaches hurricane intensity first passes through two intermediate stages known as

tropical depression and tropical storm. Hurricanes start over the oceans as a collection of storms in the

tropics. The deepening low-pressure center takes in moist air and thermal energy from the ocean surface,

convection lifts the air, and high pressure higher in the atmosphere pushes it outward. Rotation of the wind

currents tends to spin the clouds into a tight curl; as the winds reach gale force, the depression becomes a

tropical storm. The mature hurricane is nearly circularly symmetrical, and its influence often extends over an

area 500 mi (805 km) in diameter. As a result of the extremely low central pressure (often around 28.35

in. /960 milliards but sometimes considerably lower, with a record 25.69 in./870 milliards registered in a

1979 NW Pacific typhoon) surface air spirals inward cyclonically (counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere

and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere), converging on a circle of about 20 mi (30 km) diameter that

surrounds the hurricane's "eye." The circumference of this circle defines the so-called eye wall, where the

inward-spiraling, moisture-laden air is forced aloft, causing condensation and the concomitant release of latent

heat; after reaching altitudes of tens of thousands of feet above the surface, this air is finally expelled

toward the storm's periphery and eventually creates the spiral bands of clouds easily identifiable in satellite

photographs. The upward velocity of the air and subsequent condensation make the eye wall the region of

heaviest precipitation and highest clouds. Because the outward increase in pressure is greatest there, the eye

wall is also the region of maximum wind speed. By contrast, the hurricane eye is almost calm, experiences

little or no precipitation, and is often exposed to a clear sky.

 Damage Caused by Hurricanes
High winds are a primary cause of hurricane-inflicted loss of life and property damage. Another cause is the

flooding resulting from the coastal storm surge of the ocean and the torrential rains, both of which

accompany the storm. The Saffir-Simpson scale is the standard scale for rating the severity of a hurricane as

measured by the damage it causes. It classifies hurricanes on a hierarchy from category 1 (minimal), through

category 2 (moderate), category 3 (extensive), and category 4 (extreme), to category 5 (catastrophic). A

supertyphoon is equivalent to a category 4 or 5 hurricane. Only three category-5 storms have hit the United

States since record-keeping began—the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, which devastated the Florida Keys, killing

600; Hurricane Camille in 1969, which ravaged the Mississippi coast, killing 256; and Andrew in 1992, which

leveled much of Homestead, Fla. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was a category-5 storm at peak intensity over

the central Caribbean, Mitch in 1998 was a category-5 storm at its peak over the W Caribbean, and Gilbert

in 1988 was a category-5 storm at its peak. Gilbert was the strongest

Atlantic tropical cyclone of record until Wilma in 2005, which was at its

peak while category-5 storm over the W Caribbean. The 1970 Bay of Bengal

tropical cyclone killed some 300,000 persons, mainly by drowning, and

devastated Chittagong (now in Bangladesh); some 130,000 died when a

cyclone struck Myanmar along the Andaman Sea in 2008. The deadliest U.S. hurricane was the 1900

Galveston storm, which killed 8,000–12,000 people and destroyed the city. Hurricane Katrina (2005), one

of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, was economically the most destructive U.S. storm, devastating

the SW Mississippi and SE Louisiana coasts, flooding New Orleans, killing some 1,200 people, and leaving

hundreds of thousands homeless. Sandy (2012), though technically an extra tropical cyclone and no longer a

hurricane when it made landfall, was the second most destructive storm economically, affecting New Jersey,

New York, and 15 other states. Hugo (1989) in South Carolina and Opal (1995) and Charley, Ivan, and two

others (2004) in Florida, and Rita (2005) and Ike (2008) in Louisiana and Texas also caused billions of

dollars’ worth of damage. Weak hurricanes can still cause major flooding and damage, even when downgraded

to a tropical storm, as did Agnes (1972) and Allison (2001).To decrease such damage several unsuccessful

programs have studied ways to "defuse" hurricanes in their developing stages; more recent hurricane damage-

mitigation steps have included better warning systems involving real-time satellite imagery. A hurricane watch

is issued when there is a threat of hurricane conditions within 24–36 hours. A hurricane warning is issued
when hurricane conditions (winds greater than 74 mph/119 kph or dangerously high water and rough seas) are

expected in 24 hours or less.

Movement and Occurrence of Hurricanes

Hurricanes and typhoons usually move westward at about 10 mph (16 kph) during their early stages and then

curve pole ward as they approach the western boundaries of the oceans at 20° to 30° lat., although more

complex tracks are common. In the Northern Hemisphere, incipient hurricanes usually form over the tropical

Atlantic Ocean and mature as they drift westward; hurricanes also form off the west coast of Mexico and

move northeastward from that area. Between June and November, an average of six tropical storms per year

mature into hurricanes along the east coast of North America, often over the Caribbean Sea or the Gulf of

Mexico. Two of these storms will typically become major hurricanes (categories 3 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson

scale). One to three hurricanes typically approach the U.S. coast annually, some changing their direction from

west to northeast as they develop; as many as six hurricanes have struck the United States in one year.

Hurricanes and typhoons of the N Pacific usually develop sometime between May and December; typhoons and

tropical cyclones of the Southern Hemisphere favor the period from December through April; Bay of Bengal

and Arabian Sea tropical cyclones occur either between April and June or September and December, the times

of the onset and retreat of the monsoon winds.

Tornadoes
A tornado is a rapidly rotating column of air that is in contact with both
the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the
base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as twisters, whirlwinds
or cyclones, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology to name a
weather system with a low-pressure area in the center around which winds
blow counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the
Southern. Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes, and they are often visible in the form of a condensation
funnel originating from the base of a cumulonimbus cloud, with a cloud of rotating debris and dust beneath
it. Most tornadoes have wind speeds less than 110 miles per hour (180 km/h), are about 250 feet (80 m)
across, and travel a few miles (several kilometers) before dissipating. The most extreme tornadoes can attain
wind speeds of more than 300 miles per hour (480 km/h), are more than two miles (3 km) in diameter,
and stay on the ground for dozens of miles (more than 100 km). Various types of tornadoes include the
multiple vortex tornado, land spout and waterspout. Waterspouts are characterized by a spiraling funnel-
shaped wind current, connecting to a large cumulus or cumulonimbus cloud. They are generally classified as
non-supercellular tornadoes that develop over bodies of water, but there is disagreement over whether to
classify them as true tornadoes. These spiraling columns of air frequently develop in tropical areas close to
the equator, and are less common at high latitudes. Other tornado-like phenomena that exist in nature
include the gust ado, dust devil, fire whirls, and devil. Tornadoes occur in North America, particularly in the
area of the United States known as tornado alley, as well as in northern and east-central South America,
Southern Africa, northwestern and southeast Europe, western and southeastern Australia, and New Zealand.

Etymology
The word tornado is an altered form of the Spanish word tronada, which means "thunderstorm". This in turn
was taken from the Latin tonare, meaning "to thunder". It most likely reached its present form through a
combination of the Spanish tronada and tornar ("to turn"); however, this may be a folk etymology. A
tornado is also commonly referred to as a "twister", and is also sometimes referred to by the old-fashioned
colloquial term cyclone. The term "cyclone" is used as a synonym for "tornado" in the often-aired 1939 film
The Wizard of Oz. The term "twister" is also used in that film, along with being the title of the 1996
tornado-related film Twister.

Definitions
A tornado is "a violently rotating column of air, in contact with the ground,
either pendant from a cumuliform cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, and
often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud". For a vortex to be classified as
a tornado, it must be in contact with both the ground and the cloud base.
Scientists have not yet created a complete definition of the word; for example,
there is disagreement as to whether separate touchdowns of the same funnel
constitute separate tornadoes. Tornado refers to the vortex of wind, not the
condensation cloud.

Funnel cloud
This tornado has no funnel cloud; however, the rotating dust cloud indicates that strong winds are occurring
at the surface, and thus it is a true tornado. A tornado is not necessarily visible; however, the intense low
pressure caused by the high wind speeds (as described by Bernoulli's principle) and rapid rotation (due to
cyclostrophic balance) usually cause water vapor in the air to condense into cloud droplets due to adiabatic
cooling. This results in the formation of a visible funnel cloud or condensation funnel. There is some
disagreement over the definition of a funnel cloud and a condensation funnel.
 Outbreaks and families
Occasionally, a single storm will produce more than one tornado, either simultaneously or in succession.
Multiple tornadoes produced by the same storm cell are referred to as a "tornado family”. Several tornadoes
are sometimes spawned from the same large-scale storm system. If there is no break in activity, this is
considered a tornado outbreak (although the term "tornado outbreak" has various definitions). A period of
several successive days with tornado outbreaks in the same general area (spawned by multiple weather
systems) is a tornado outbreak sequence, occasionally called an extended tornado outbreak.

Characteristics
Most tornadoes take on the appearance of a narrow funnel, a few
hundred yards (meters) across, with a small cloud of debris near
the ground. Tornadoes may be obscured completely by rain or
dust. These tornadoes are especially dangerous, as even experienced
meteorologists might not see them. Tornadoes can appear in many
shapes and sizes. Small, relatively weak land spouts may be visible
only as a small swirl of dust on the ground. Although the
condensation funnel may not extend all the way to the ground, if
associated surface winds are greater than 40 mph (64 km/h),
the circulation is considered a tornado. A tornado with a nearly
cylindrical profile and relative low height is sometimes referred to as a "stovepipe" tornado. Large single-
vortex tornadoes can look like large wedges stuck into the ground, and so are known as "wedge tornadoes" or
"wedges". The "stovepipe" classification is also used for this type of tornado if it otherwise fits that profile.
A wedge can be so wide that it appears to be a block of dark clouds, wider than the distance from the cloud
base to the ground. Even experienced storm observers may not be able to tell the difference between a low-
hanging cloud and a wedge tornado from a distance. Many, but not all major tornadoes are wedges. Tornadoes
in the dissipating stage can resemble narrow tubes or ropes, and often curl or twist into complex shapes.
These tornadoes are said to be "roping out", or becoming a "rope tornado". When they rope out, the length
of their funnel increases, which forces the winds within the funnel to weaken due to conservation of angular
momentum. Multiple-vortex tornadoes can appear as a family of swirls circling a common center, or they may
be completely obscured by condensation, dust, and debris, appearing to be a single funnel. In the United
States, tornadoes are around 500 feet (150 m) across on average and travel on the ground for 5 miles
(8.0 km). However, there is a wide range of tornado sizes. Weak tornadoes, or strong yet dissipating
tornadoes, can be exceedingly narrow, sometimes only a few feet or couple meters across. One tornado was
reported to have a damage path only 7 feet (2.1 m) long. On the other end of the spectrum, wedge
tornadoes can have a damage path a mile (1.6 km) wide or more.