Hurricane Delta

Hurricane Delta

Hurricane Delta recently made landfall in the US state of Louisiana. This is the 10th named storm to make US landfall so far this year, breaking a record that has stood since 1916.

About Hurricanes:

Hurricanes are enormous storms which come with rotating wind speed of 74 miles per hour. The rotating wind swirls across the warm water of the tropics and comes with terrifying force.

Tornadoes winds are more violent and stronger than hurricane winds. Hurricanes last longer and cover up to 500000 square miles of land.

When a hurricane strikes a coastal area, it brings a number of serious hazards. These hazards include heavy rains, high winds, a storm surge, and even tornadoes. Storm surge pushes seawater on shore during a hurricane, flooding towns near the coast.

During just one hurricane, raging winds can churn out about half as much energy as the electrical generating capacity of the entire world, while cloud and rain formation from the same storm might release a staggering 400 times that amount.

Formation of Hurricanes:

A tropical disturbance is an area over warm ocean waters where rain clouds are building. Humidity rises up into the sky, where it may be sucked upwards by winds in the atmosphere or it may be squeezed upwards into huge rotating storms known as mesoscale convective systems.

As these convective storms begin to rotate, energy is required for their maintenance and they are capable of tapping the heat released by condensation at high altitudes above the storm's center. This causes the thunderstorms to grow in size and intensity. An increase in thunderstorm activity within the cloud will lead to a drop in atmospheric pressure at the surface underneath.

Tropical disturbances are small areas of thunderstorms with rotating winds of less than 62 km/h. The swirls that form them can become tropical depressions. Tropical depressions grow into tropical storms, but may weaken and die at any point along the way.

The most powerful hurricanes on earth, hurricanes are spinning storms that form over warm ocean water near the equator. A tropical depression is measured as a wind speed of 63 km/hr and a tropical storm is measured as a wind speed of 119 km/hr.

Category of Hurricanes:

Hurricanes can be classified in five categories depending on the sustained wind speeds. The categories and their associated damage levels are:

• (Category 1) Minimal: damage primarily to shrubbery, trees and foliage; some coastal flooding and possible minor damage to boats.
• (Category 2) Moderate: considerable damage to trees; some roof, window and door damage; coastal flooding requiring evacuation; damage to boats.
• (Category 3) Extensive: large trees blown down; structural damage to small buildings; serious flooding near coast; evacuation necessary; coastal structures damaged or destroyed.
• (Category 4) Extreme: extensive destruction of trees and buildings; large-scale flooding; major damage to low structures within about 450m of shore; possible evacuation from low ground within eight to 16km of shore.
• (Category 5) Catastrophic: trees down; extensive building damage; coastal area below 3m flooded up to 10km inland; major damages to coastal structures; beaches eroded; massive evacuation near coast. Damage primarily to shrubbery, trees and foliage; some coastal flooding and possible minor damage to boats.

Parts of a Hurricane:

The main parts of a hurricane (shown below) are the rainbands on its outer edges, the eye, and the eyewall.

• Eye:The eye is the "hole" at the center of the storm. Winds are light in this area. Skies are partly cloudy, and sometimes even clear.
• Eye Wall:The eye wall is a ring of thunderstorms. These storms swirl around the eye. The wall is where winds are strongest and rain is heaviest.
• Rain Bands:Bands of clouds and rain go far out from a hurricane's eye wall. These bands stretch for hundreds of miles. They contain thunderstorms and sometimes tornadoes.