Pounding Storms During 2017 four powerful hurricanes left paths of destruction along the Atlantic coast of North America the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico These epic storms hurricanes Harvey Irma Maria and Nate left hundreds of people dead and millions of lives forever altered A Season of Destruction The Atlantic hurricane season happens every year between June 1 and November 30 But 2017 was especially damaging because of warm waters in the Atlantic Ocean and dangerous weather patterns in the air above it Hurricane Harvey was the first of the four to wreak havoc It made landfall in Texas during late August In September Hurricane Irma made its way from the Caribbean and tore through Florida Shortly after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico In October Hurricane Nate tore through Costa Rica Nicaragua Honduras and finally Louisiana and Mississippi What’s the Damage The total damages are still unclear but experts say that for the United States alone 2017 was the most expensive and active in the country’s history at over 250 billion 4
Hurricane Season The Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico are particularly at risk for hurricanes that originate in the Atlantic Ocean On average 10 tropical storms develop in the Atlantic each year and grow into hurricanes There were 17 different storms recorded in 2017 making it an abnormally active season Hurricanes Harvey Irma Maria and Nate were particularly strong storms which added to the devastation In fact because of the records broken during this year the World Meteorological Organization WMO has retired their names There will never be other hurricanes with these names Hurricane Nate caused 48 deaths 14 in Costa Rica alone It was that country’s costliest natural disaster Naming a Hurricane Male and female names have been used to refer to storms since 1953 Storms used to be named using geographic coordinates but they began using names because they were easier to communicate back and forth between scientists meteorologists and the media 5
A Recipe for Disaster A hurricane is a type of weather system known as a tropical cyclone Cyclone is the general term used for all circulating weather systems A cyclone is called a hurricane when it develops over the Atlantic Basin and when the winds reach 74 mph 119 kph A hurricane starts when a low air pressure system forms over warm water Low air pressure is created when the air above the water is warm and moist The warm air rises so there is less pressure in the center of the system This warm air moves upward in a counter clockwise circular motion into cooler parts of the atmosphere The molecules in the air cool to become water molecules which then form clouds 6
The surrounding air with higher pressure fills in the space where the warm air is rising This happens repeatedly and creates swirls of wind in the air This continues happening and the system of air pressure winds and cloud gains strength rotating faster and faster Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale 1 2 3 4 5 Wind speeds of 74 to 95 mph 120 153 kph Category 1 storms damage homes snap tree branches and knock down power lines and poles Wind speeds of 96 to 110 mph 154 177 kph Category 2 storms have extremely dangerous winds that can cause major roof damage shallowly rooted trees can snap and power outages can last days or weeks Wind speeds of 111 to 129 mph 179-208 kph Category 3 storms cause devastating damage including snapped or uprooted trees blocking roads and electricity and water can be unavailable for several days Wind speeds of 130 to 156 mph 209 251 kph Category 4 storms cause catastrophic damage including severe damage to homes most trees snapped or uprooted widespread power outages lasting weeks to months Affected areas unlivable for weeks or months Wind speeds of 157 mph 253 kph and up Category 5 storms cause catastrophic damage with a high percentage of homes totally destroyed Power outages can last from weeks to months and the affected areas won’t be livable for weeks or months afterward The eye of the storm is at the center of the hurricane It is a space usually around 20 to 40 miles 32 64 km wide It is the calmest area of the storm with clear skies and low air pressure 77
