| |
|
| |
|
| |
Your
Local Forecast by City, State
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
•
Weather Portal
•
NOAA Storm Tracker
•
Hurricane
FAQs |
| Basic
Hurricane Safety Actions |
•
Know if you live in an evacuation area. Know your home's vulnerability
to storm surge, flooding and wind. Have a written plan based
on this knowledge.
•
At the beginning of hurricane season (June 1), check your supplies,
replace batteries and use food stocks on a rotating basis.
•
During hurricane season, monitor the tropics. Monitor NOAA
Weather Radio All Hazards.
•
If a storm threatens, heed the advice from local authorities.
Evacuate if ordered.
•
Execute your family plan. |
|
|
Know
the Difference
|
A
HURRICANE WATCH issued for your part of the coast indicates
the possibility that you could experience hurricane conditions
within 36 hours. This watch should trigger your family's disaster
plan, and protective measures should be initiated, especially
those actions that require extra time such as securing a boat,
leaving a barrier island, etc.
A HURRICANE WARNING issued for your part of
the coast indicates that sustained winds of at least 74 mph
are expected within 24 hours or less. Once this warning has
been issued, your family should be in the process of completing
protective actions and deciding the safest location to be during
the storm. |
Hurricane
Photos |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| 
A
hurricane is a severe tropical storm that forms in the North
Atlantic Ocean, the Northeast Pacific Ocean east of the dateline,
or the South Pacific Ocean east of 160E. Hurricanes need warm
tropical oceans, moisture and light winds above them. If the
right conditions last long enough, a hurricane can produce
violent winds, incredible waves, torrential rains and floods.
In other
regions of the world, these types of storms have different
names.
- Typhoon
— (the Northwest Pacific Ocean west of the dateline)
- Severe
Tropical Cyclone — (the Southwest Pacific Ocean west
of 160E or Southeast Indian Ocean east of 90E)
- Severe
Cyclonic Storm — (the North Indian Ocean)
- Tropical
Cyclone — (the Southwest Indian Ocean)
|
Hurricane Katrina satellite image taken Aug. 28, 2005, when
the storm was a Category 5 in the Gulf of Mexico.
|
|
| Hurricanes
rotate in a counterclockwise direction around an "eye."
A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when winds reach 74 mph.
There are on average six Atlantic hurricanes each year; over
a three-year period, approximately five hurricanes strike
the United States coastline from Texas to Maine. The Atlantic
hurricane season begins June 1 and ends November 30. The East
Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 through November
30, with peak activity occurring during July through September.
When hurricanes
move onto land, the heavy rain, strong winds and heavy waves
can damage buildings, trees and cars. The heavy waves are
called a storm surge. Storm surge is very dangerous and a
major reason why you MUST stay away from the ocean during
a hurricane. |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
• |
NOAA
National Hurricane Center — prepares and
distributes hurricane watches and warnings for the general public,
and also prepares and distributes marine and military advisories
for other users. During the "off-season," the Center,
in Miami, Fla., provides training for U.S. emergency managers
and representatives from many other countries that are affected
by tropical cyclones. The center also conducts applied research
to evaluate and improve hurricane forecasting techniques, and
is involved in public awareness programs. |
• |
NOAA
Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory
— conducts a basic and applied research program in oceanography,
tropical meteorology, atmospheric and oceanic chemistry, and
acoustics. The program seeks to understand the physical characteristics
and processes of the ocean and the atmosphere, both separately
and as a coupled system. The lab is home to the NOAA
Hurricane Research Division. |
• |
NOAA
Aircraft Operations Center (Home of NOAA Hurricane Hunters)
— The
airplanes and helicopters of the Aircraft Operations Center
are flown in support of NOAA's mission to promote global environmental
assessment, prediction and stewardship of the Earth's environment.
NOAA's aircraft operate throughout the United States and around
the world; over open oceans, mountains, coastal wetlands and
Arctic pack ice. These versatile aircraft provide scientists
with airborne platforms necessary to collect the environmental
and geographic data essential to their research. |
|
|
|
