Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones, Oh My!
You may not have known it, but we are a full ten weeks into the 2009 hurricane season. It was setting up to be a quiet season until the past week produced three tropical storms, including Bill, the first Atlantic 2009 hurricane. We at Dinner Topics want you to be prepared to weather the storm of questions about hurricanes. Here’s what you need to know.
Which is What and What is Which?
You’ve heard of hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, tropical storms and even tropical depressions. But what exactly are they? They’re all regional descriptions of the same thing – a circular spinning thunderstorm over tropical waters. If the storm has wind speeds of 39 mph or less, they are called “tropical depressions;” at speeds of 40-73 mph, they graduate to “tropical storms”. If wind speeds exceed 74 mph, they become “hurricanes” (if they form in the North Atlantic, Northeast Pacific or South Pacific Oceans), “typhoons” (if they form in the Northwest Pacific Ocean) and “cyclones” (if they develop in the Southwest Pacific or Indian Oceans).
What do the categories mean?
How often have you heard the weatherman reference a hurricane by category number? They’re referring to something called the Saffir-Simpson hurricane intensity scale, set forth below, which offers an estimate of the potential flooding and damage to property given a hurricane’s estimated intensity.1
| Category | Wind Speed (mph) | Storm Surge (ft) | Damage |
| 1 | 74-95 | 3-6 | Minimal |
| 2 | 96-110 | 6-9 | Moderate |
| 3 | 111-130 | 9-12 | Extensive |
| 4 | 131-155 | 13-18 | Extreme |
| 5 | 156+ | 19+ | Catastrophic |
What’s in a name?
The various weather services around the globe began naming tropical storms in the early 20th century for ease of reference, as the storms could persist for a week or longer and sometimes overlap. Today, tropical storms in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean use the predetermined list of names set forth below.2 The first storm of the season is given a name beginning with A and subsequent storms follow the alphabet (with no names given for Q, U, X, Y and Z). Tropical storm names alternate between male and female. In odd years, the first name of the season is female; in even years, the first is male.
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Ana | Alex | Arlene | Alberto | Andrea | Arthur |
| Bill | Bonnie | Bret | Beryl | Barry | Bertha |
| Claudette | Colin | Cindy | Chris | Chantal | Cristobal |
| Danny | Danielle | Don | Debby | Dorian | Dolly |
| Erika | Earl | Emily | Ernesto | Erin | Edouard |
| Fred | Fiona | Franklin | Florence | Fernand | Fay |
| Grace | Gaston | Gert | Gordon | Gabrielle | Gonzalo |
| Henri | Hermine | Harvey | Helene | Humberto | Hanna |
| Ida | Igor | Irene | Isaac | Ingrid | Isaias |
| Joaquin | Julia | Jose | Joyce | Jerry | Josephine |
| Kate | Karl | Katia | Kirk | Karen | Kyle |
| Larry | Lisa | Lee | Leslie | Lorenzo | Laura |
| Mindy | Matthew | Maria | Michael | Melissa | Marco |
| Nicholas | Nicole | Nate | Nadine | Nestor | Nana |
| Odette | Otto | Ophelia | Oscar | Olga | Omar |
| Peter | Paula | Philippe | Patty | Pablo | Paulette |
| Rose | Richard | Rina | Rafael | Rebekah | Rene |
| Sam | Shary | Sean | Sandy | Sebastien | Sally |
| Teresa | Tomas | Tammy | Tony | Tanya | Teddy |
| Victor | Virginie | Vince | Valerie | Van | Vicky |
| Wanda | Walter | Whitney | William | Wendy | Wilfred |
At least 75 Atlantic hurricane names have been retired either because they have historical significance, in that they caused great damage and/or death or because cultural or political reasons compel retirement.
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Read on:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml
(Hurricane Ivan photo taken from: http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/hurricane-ivan.jpg)
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