[STORMWATCH 2005 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE]

 

It may seem like Eastern North Carolina has been the only state that has been affected by Hurricanes.  However, looking back in history, there have been several hurricanes that have had a physical, monetary and intense impact on the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast of the United States.  The map below shows only a sampling of some of the most intense, deadliest and costliest hurricanes to ever hit the United States.

 

Click on the map that follows for a full view:

 

 

The map above contains information on hurricanes through the 2003 Hurricane Season.

 

[STORMWATCH 2005 SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES]

 

We can attribute the improved forecasting of tropical systems to many advances in science and technology. As recently as this year, we have seen how improved a forecast from the National Hurricane Center has warned millions of American Citizens to evacuate from a storm's determined path of influence. However, we have a long ways to go before almost 100 percent accuracy can be achieved. Thanks to the advances of the past, Americans have hope for improved forecasting and minimizing a hurricane's effects on mankind in future hurricane seasons.

 

Click on the map below for a timeline of the scientific advances that have been made in Hurricane Forecasting:

 

 

[FACTS AND STATISTICS ABOUT HURRICANES]

 

STRONGEST HURRICANE RECORDED

 

• Florida Keys Storm of 1935

• Category 5 Storm

• 500 Deaths

 

MOST INTENSE HURRICANES RECORDED

 

• Labor Day Storm of 1935

• Category 5 Storm

• 400 Deaths in Florida

 

• Camille (1969)

• 25 foot Storm Surge

• 256Deaths

• Flooding from Gulf Coast through the Mid-Atlantic States

 

DEADLIEST U.S. LAND FALLING HURRICANE

 

• The Galveston Island Storm of 1900

• Category 4 Storm

• ~8000 Deaths

 

COSTLIEST U.S. LAND FALLING HURRICANE

 

• Andrew (August 1992)

• >$25 billion in damage

 

OTHER STATISTICS

 

• On average, hurricanes cause 17 deaths in the United States each year.  Flooding causes 147 deaths per year.

• STORM SURGES attribute 9 out of every 10 deaths related to hurricanes.

• Hurricanes lose most of their energy within 12 hours of landfall.

• Atlantic Hurricane Season:  June 1st through November 30th

• 1953:  The first year with Male named hurricanes in alphabetical order.

• 1956:  The first year where a hurricane was given a female name.

• On average, 100 tropical disturbances form in the Atlantic Ocean each year:

• 10 of these disturbances become named Tropical Storms.

• 6 of the Tropical Storms form to become Hurricanes.

• 2 of the Hurricanes are the most likely to strike the United States.

• The STRONGEST HURRICANES can happen during a very inactive hurricane season:

  • ALICIA (1983):  only 4 named storms

  • ANDREW (1992):   only 6 named storms

• Hurricanes rotate Counter-Clockwise in the Earth's Northern Hemisphere.

• It takes more time to evacuate an area in the path of a hurricane than it did 10 years ago.