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Ashlee Hill
Tuesday Nov 18, 2003
SCI 210.06
A tropical cyclonic storm having winds in
excess of 199 kilometers (74 miles/hour)
• Hurricanes occur over
all tropical oceans
except those of the
South Atlantic and
eastern South Pacific.
• Here in the United
States, hurricanes occur
along the coastal lines
in the east and near the
Gulf
• At the center of a hurricane lives the eye.
• The eye holds the warmest air of the storm due to
descending and heating by compression
• Some people believe the eye is characterized by blue skies
– Note: this isn’t always the case because the subsidence
in the eye isn’t strong enough to produce cloudless
conditions
•…in the last summer months when the ocean
water temperatures reach 80 degrees Fahrenheit
or higher
•…develop over tropical ocean waters
•…are fueled by the latent heat liberated when
huge quantities of water vapor condense
•…they move over the ocean water that can’t
supply warm, moist tropical air
OR
•…move onto land
OR
•…reach location where the large-scale flow
aloft is unfavorable
• Used to rank the relative intensities of hurricanes
• Measures the disaster potential of a hurricane
• Storm Surge
causes death
• Wind damage
causes damages to
man-made things
• Inland flooding