Hurricane Saffir-Simpson Scale

A hurricane is a very violent storms. No other storm is as large and powerful as the hurricane, or orthewise known as a cyclone or typhoon. These storms are some of the strongest(Lauber,19). A very strong part of the storm is the surge. A surge is a rise of water. In all hurricanes, 90% of the deaths are caused by these surges. Some surges can be 20 feet in height and 100 miles wide (environment.nationalgeographic.com). As Treaster said "The greatest killing power is the space of prehaps 10 to 20 miles between the sleeves, known as the eye wall." (Treaster,19). Another part of this violent storm is its wind. A category 1 hurricane has winds up to 75-95 mph. But a category 4 hurricane can exceed wind speeds of 131-156 mph. Category 5 hurricane has wind speeds of 157 mph or

In 2005 a storm of Category 3 rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale known as Hurricane Katrina struck the gulf coast of the United States. Assumed to be the costliest hurricane in the history of the United States, Hurricane Katrina displaced hundreds of thousands of people and cost roughly $100 billion in damages. The city of New Orleans was particularly damaged because of its low average elevation and because it is almost completely surrounded by water. Many had little idea of how bad things were in New Orleans and surrounding regions with president George W. Bush and the Federal Emergency Administration (FEMA) seemed without an action plan for the devastation. The government was unprepared for the event and the masses of people it

Hurricanes usually form over ocean areas near the Equator during summer months, since the ocean surface is at its warmest. The heat and moisture from the ocean provides the hurricane energy, and maintains it after its been formed. In this case, Hurricane Sandy travelled up north, growing colossal and relentlessly from the energy. However, if the supply of heat or moisture from the ocean is cut off, it will weaken the strength of the hurricane. Therefore, a hurricane is usually most destructive when it first moves over land. When a hurricane passes over land or cold ocean water, it loses its energy source of evaporating water and slowly dissipates.

Hurricanes are big storms in the ocean that are large, swirling storms with strong winds. The water that is pushed onto land is a storm surge and it is said that they are the most dangerous part of the hurricanes that go on the land. A Category one, winds can get up to seventy-four miles per hour. Category two, winds can get up to ninety-six miles to one-hundred-ten miles per hour, a Category threes, winds can get up to one-hundred-eleven to one-hundred-twenty-nine miles per hour. Category four hurricanes can get up to one-hundred-thirty miles per hour, Category five hurricanes are the worst ones of all and the wind speeds can get up to one-hundred-fifty-seven miles per hour and then it can destroy anything in it’s path. The Eye of the

To prepare for a category 5 hurricane first you need to block up all windows around your house with wood or hurricane shutters and make sure they are screwed in correctly. You should also get any loose items around your house and bring them inside so that they do not blow away in the storm. If you happen to have a boat, make sure to take it out of the water and put in on the side of your house on a trailer.

Keep in mind, hurricanes can get up to 300miles wide. According to source 4, “though the strongest hurricanes will have winds excess.” Winds can reach 74mph during a hurricane. Strong winds and power make winds from hurricane reach 150mph. hurricanes hit these states Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. According to source 4, “hurricane Katrina killed over 1,000 people.” A hurricane center is called the eye. Hurricanes

“A strong hurricane normally has three factors that make it so destructive, Death, Destruction and the area impacted”(the great new england hurricane). The great hurricane of 1938 certainly had three factors, but what factors made the hurricane’s impact so powerful, and what was the impact like The first of three hurricanes that had a large effect on the New England area is considered a strong hurricane for three particular reasons. The conditions that made it so powerful, the absurd amount of human error in a weather system almost riddled with ignorance and the blunt and forceful impact it had on an unexpecting region.

A hurricane needs a couple of components to survive. One of them is warm water and the other is winds going the same direction. If a hurricane didn’t have either of those, it wouldn’t last very long or be destructive. Scientists categorize hurricanes by its wind speed using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. There are 5 categories for a hurricane and each can do dangerous damage. A category 1 hurricane would have winds of 119 to 153 km per hour (or 74 to 95 mph). A category 2 hurricane would have winds going from 154 to 177 km per hour (96 to 110 mph). A category 3 hurricane has winds of 178 to 208 km per hour (111 to 129 mph). A category 4 hurricane has winds of 209-251 km per hour (130 to 156 mph). And finally, a category 5 hurricane has

In all of the models and predictions of future hurricane activity examined, the influence of rainpower on hurricane intensity was never mentioned or considered. Although the ways in which rain might affect future hurricane intensity are not well understood and there have been very few studies conducted on the subject, it is a factor that should be considered in future models and forecasts for the future of hurricane intensity because of its large influence on hurricane intensity.

“Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Maximum sustained winds for Katrina reached 170 mph before making landfall, categorizing Katrina as a Category 5 hurricane. The storm surge for Hurricane Katrina was between 20 to 30 feet, according to NOAA. Hurricane Katrina is ranked the most expensive hurricane to impact the U.S., costing $45.1 billion” (AccuWeather).

The Saffur-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a scale made up of 5 categories of Hurricanes. The categories are ordered by the speed of the Hurricane.

A hurricane is categorized by its wind speed using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, there are 5 categories with category one being the slowest and category five being the fastest. Category one is when the hurricane Winds are 119 to 153 km per hour (74 to 95 mph) which is faster than a cheetah, Category five is when the hurricane Winds are Winds more than 252 km per hour (157 mph) which is similar, or close,

Hurricanes derive their energy from heat. Specifically, the direct transfer of sensible heat and latent heat for the ocean (Ahrens, 2015, p. 338). Essentially, the process of hurricane formation occurs when a group of thunderstorms start to become organized over a low pressure area. There are two significant factor which can cause hurricanes to weaken. First, is cold water. Since heat is the fuel which fuels the hurricanes engine when cold water becomes introduced this disrupts the process. Cold water is more likely to disrupt a slow moving hurricane causing cold water to be drawn up to the surface (Ahrens, 2015, p. 339). Next, we have land. Similar to cold water once a hurricane makes land fall its energy source is cut off. Additionally, obstructions

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a section of the U.S. Department of Commerce, defines hurricanes as being a “tropical cyclone, which forms over tropical or subtropical water,” that has reached a minimum wind speed of 74 mph (NOAA). These storms are typically intense and include strong winds, potential flooding, and additional storms (thunderstorms and tornadoes). This paper will provide a more in depth look at several aspects concerning these storms including: characteristics of hurricanes, where the storms form, what conditions are necessary for a hurricane to form, the life cycle, how the storms are measured, and what dangers a hurricane could potentially bring.

A category three hurricane is defined as having wind speeds from 111 to 130 mph with a storm surge of nine to twelve feet, and doing some structural damage to small residences and buildings. A category four hurricane sustains winds of 131 to 155 mph with a storm surge of about thirteen to eighteen feet. In a category four hurricane, shrubs, trees, and all signs are blown down and there are some complete roof structure failures on small residences. Land lower than ten feet above sea level can become flooded, resulting in evacuations of residential areas that are as far inland as six miles. A category five hurricane sustains winds of greater than 155 mph with a storm surge greater than eighteen feet. In a category five hurricane, there is complete roof failure on many buildings and residences with some buildings being completely blown over or blown away. At this point, all signs, trees and shrubs are blown down, there is complete destruction of mobile homes, and excessive flooding can occur (White p.30).