1. Chapter 11: Hurricanes Tropical weather Anatomy of a hurricane
Hurricane formation and dissipation
Naming Hurricanes and Tropical Storms
Some notable hurricanes
Hurricane watches,
warnings and forecasts
Modifying hurricanes

2. Tropical Weather Tropics: 23.5N-23.5S streamlines tropical wave
easterly wave,
2500 km wavelength,
10-20 knots speed
Q: Why is there a convergence east of the trough? A: see figure.
The tropics are close to the equator,
where the Coriolis force is too small
to balance the pressure gradient
force. Thus winds are not geostrophic,
and instead of isobars, streamlines are used

3. Anatomy of a Hurricane hurricane (typhoon, cyclone): > 64 knots
eye; eyewall
spiral rain band
Hurricanes are quite similar to, yet also quite different from mid-latitude storms.
Q: 1 knot equals
a) 1 km/hr
b) 1 mile/hr
c) 1 nautical mile/hr

4. Q: What would be your experience if you cross a hurricane
Q: What would be your experience if you cross a hurricane? A: heavy rain, followed by no rain; very heavy rain and very strong wind near eyewall, followed by clear sky in the eye due to high pressure aloft; very heavy rain near the eyewall again with the reverse of wind direction
Figure 11.3: A model that shows a vertical view of air motions and clouds in a typical hurricane in the Northern Hemisphere. The diagram is exaggerated in the vertical.
Watch this Active Figure on ThomsonNow website at

5. Hurricane Formation and Dissipation
Hurricane forms over tropical
waters where winds are light,
humidity is high in a deep layer,
and surface temperature is warm,
typically 26.5C (80F) or greater,
over a vast area
SST > 28C
Over Atlantic;
Peak in early September

6. The Right Environment Convergence trigger
ITCZ, easterly waves, midlatitude fronts to tropics
Weak trade wind inversion
Weak upper wind
e.g., during a La Nina event (for more hurricanes over Atlantic)
Some Coriolis force: 5-20deg latitude
Q: Why are relatively strong temperature inversion and strong wind shear required for supercell? A: very weak inversion would lead to ordinary thunderstorms only and weak wind shear would self-destroy the storm by downdraft.
Q: Why are weak inversion and weak upper wind are required for hurricanes? A: warm ocean surface is the energy source that is not much affected by downdraft; strong inversion prevents the formation of thunderstorms; strong wind disrupts the organized pattern of convection.

7. The Developing Storm
Heat engine: heat taken at high T, converted into work , then ejected at low T.
Hurricane: heat taken from warm ocean, converted into kinetic energy (wind), lost at its top through radiational cooling
Maximum wind depends on surface and tropopause temperature difference and the potential of sea surface evaporation

8. Hurricane Stages of Development
tropical disturbance: unorganized mass of thunderstorms, weak wind
tropical depression: knots, closed isobars
tropical storm: knots, with a name
hurricane: > 64 knots, with a name
This progression of stages is followed in reverse order as a storm weakens.
Q: Where does the strongest wind occur in a hurricane?
a) in the hurricane eye,
b) around the eyewall,
c) in the spiral rain band

9. The Storm Dies Out
cutting off the storm’s energy supply by moving over cooler ocean
Landfall: lose energy source and increased friction to reduce wind A B C D
Q: In the figure, which storm is dying out?
a) storm A, b) storm B, c) storm C, d) storm D
Q: How to draw the vertical distribution of isobars associated with a hurricane? A: minimum surface pressure at hurricane center; high pressure near tropopause at center (see the drawing in class).

10. Q: Hurricanes can form over oceans with surface temperature
a) > 17 C, b) > 22 C, c) > 27 C
Q: Do hurricanes usually form at the equator?
a) yes, b) no
Q: Hurricane wind is stronger than
a) 34 knots, b) 44 knots, c) 54 knots, d) 64 knots
Q: Favorable conditions for hurricane development include
a) strong inversion and strong upper wind
b) strong inversion and weak upper wind
c) weak inversion and strong upper wind
d) weak inversion and weak upper wind

11. Hurricane Movement role of the ITCZ
northward movement due to subtropical highs
influence of the westerlies
Q: Westward-moving North Atlantic hurricanes often take a turn towards the north as they approach North America, because of
a) the Bermuda High, b) easterly wave, c) westerly wind

12. January
Fig (a)
July
Fig. 7.27(b)

13. Q: Why is there a lack of hurricanes adjacent to South America
Q: Why is there a lack of hurricanes adjacent to South America? A: because of cooler water, vertical wind shear, and unfavorable ITCZ position.
Figure 11.10: Regions where tropical storms form (red shading), the names given to storms, and the typical paths they take (red arrows).

14. Hurricane paths

15. Hurricane vs midlattitude storms
Q: What do hurricanes and midlatitude storms have in common? A: both are low pressure systems with counterclockwise motions (in Northern Hemisphere).
Q: What do they differ in energy source?
A: hurricanes derive energy from warm ocean and latent heat of condensation; while midlatitude storms derive energy from horizontal temperature difference

17. Naming Hurricanes and Tropical Storms
past practices: female names
current protocol: female and male names; in alphabetic order so that the first hurricane starts with the letter A; then in Greek alphabet
Letters Q, U, X, Y, Z not used over north Atlantic
Letters Q, U not used over eastern north Pacific
Whenever a hurricane has had a major impact, (as a category 3 or higher), its name is retired for at least 10 years.

18. Check
your
names

19. Devastating Winds and the Storm Surge
Q: The strongest hurricane wind is located at the place where the hurricane rotational wind and the hurricane movement wind are: a) in the same direction, b) in opposite direction, c) perpendicular to each other
Q: Does the Ekman transport increase or decrease the coastal sea level in the figure? a) increase, b) decrease, c) no effect
Q: What would cause high ocean at the center? a) surface low pressure, b) high pressure

20. Devastating Winds and the Storm Surge
High waves would raise sea level
Ocean tides (due to gravity of sun and moon) also raise sea level
Storm surge (i.e., sea level rise by several meters) could be caused by the combination of Ekman transport, low pressure, high waves, and tides
Flooding: due to heavy rainfall and storm surge; cause most human casualties

21. defined primarily based on wind speed

22. Landfall from 1900 to 2009 over the Gulf or Atlantic coasts of U.S.
Categories 3-5 are considered major hurricanes

24. High winds, large waves, and large storm surge caused
Katrina, 2005:
$75B damage;
>1500 deaths;
High winds, large waves, and
large storm surge caused
disastrous breeches in the levee
system
Figure 4: The paths of eight hurricanes that impacted Florida during 2004 and Notice that in 2004 hurricanes Frances and Jeanne made landfall at just about the same spot along Florida’s southeast coast. The date under the hurricane’s name indicates the date the hurricane made landfall.
Figure 4, p. 319

25. Visible satellite imagery on May 2, 2008
Visible satellite imagery on May 2, The storm surge and flood waters killed more than 140,000 people.

26. Hurricane Watches, Warnings and Forecasts
24-48 hr before landing
hurricane warning:
storm will strike an area
Forecasts:
improvement in path;
not in strength
Wrong forecasts
also cause economic loss
Red: hurricane warning;
pink: hurrican watch;

28. Modifying Hurricanes cloud seeding to reduce maximum wind
attempt to increase ordinary thunderstorms (rather than severe thunderstorm in a hurricane;
difficult to verify the effect
monomolecular films
attempt to reduce surface evaporation;

29. Hurricanes in a warmer world
Hurricanes are very active in 2005; Tropical Atlantic sea surface
temperature (SST) is warmer
than climatology.
Q: Will hurricane activities increase in a warmer world?
a) yes, b) no, c) not so sure

30. Q: list three triggers for the initial development of hurricane development.
Q: Where are showers found: a) western side of tropical easterly wave, b) eastern side of the wave
Q: What is the “fuel” that drives the hurricane? a) ocean surface evaporation, b) easterly wave, c) ITCZ
Q: What factors tend to weaken hurricanes?
A: wind shear, passage over cooler water, passage over land.
Q: For a hurricane moving northward, which side will the strongest wind located? a) southern side, b) western side, c) northern side, d) eastern side