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‘Tis the season! Hurricane season that is. Are you prepared to protect your home and business?
Hurricanes are one of mother nature’s most ferocious storms. To stay safe and protect yourself you should first understand how and why they form.
Read on to learn these hurricane facts.
For a hurricane to develop, it’s dependent on six conditions. All must be in place for these storms to continue on their path.
Ocean waters have to be above 79 degrees Fahrenheit for a hurricane to form. Anything under this and a hurricane will either not develop or weaken rapidly.
The next condition needed is distance from the equator. A hurricane will not form within 5 degrees latitude of the equator, because this is where the Coriolis effect is at its weakest. In basic terms, the Coriolis effect makes hurricanes rotate and change directions throughout the Southern and Northern hemispheres.
A vertical wind shear is a difference in direction and wind speed at two different heights within the atmosphere.
Hurricanes won’t form from strong upper-level winds because these destroy a storm’s structure.
A moist mid-troposphere is needed to keep a hurricane’s clouds and winds going. Dry air will destroy its clouds, and prevent the hurricane from continuing to develop.
Warm, moist air is considered unstable. The more unstable the air, the faster it will rise. This results in thunderstorms that contribute to a hurricane.
The final component of a hurricane forming is a pre-existing disturbance, like a tropical wave.
These are typically thunderstorms that move off the west coast of Africa. If the above conditions meet with this one over the Atlantic Ocean, it will intensify and turn into what we know as the hurricane.
Now that you know the makings of a hurricane, let’s talk about a term you’ve probably heard before…the “eye” of the hurricane. What exactly is it?
The eye is the center of a hurricane, where light winds have formed within a severe cyclone. It’s essentially the calm before the storm. There’s close to no precipitation and you may even see stars or a blue sky.
Don’t let this deceive you. The eye is surrounded by the eyewall, where the highest winds and most severe weather has formed.
When you hear about hurricanes forming, you’ll also hear about its category.
Here’s what that means.
This is the mildest category with winds between 74 to 95 mp. A hurricane in this category would cause only mild damage.
These hurricanes have winds from 96 to 110 mph and can cause extensive damage like uprooted trees.
With winds from 111 to 129 mph, these hurricanes can break windows and doors, causing devastating damage.
This category brings winds from 130 to 156 mph. The result is catastrophic, with the power to tear roofs off of houses.
This type of hurricane is the worst you could get hit with, with winds over 157 mph. It has the power to completely destroy homes and buildings.
Now you know what it takes to form a hurricane and what each category means. The next time you hear of a hurricane warning, you’ll know what to expect depending on the category.
Remember these hurricane facts and be prepared by having a disaster plan, keeping plenty of water and non-perishable foods on hand, and gathering your important documents (like passports and personal identification).
For no cost, Unlimited Restoration, Inc. will come to your business to help you evaluate your disaster plan and put you on our preferred list. This means in the case of a disaster, we’ll come to you first.
Learn how our emergency planning can help you today.
