Algebra 2 Hurricane Essay

Algebra II Hurricane Research Assignment (Frances)

‘Thew Svec

1) What is the definition of hurricane? Include where hurricanes occur, the weather condition they produce, and if there are any other names used to describe the same type of storms.

Hurricanes are large tropical storms occurring near or on the equator with large amounts of wind and rainfall, accompanied by high humidity and possible flooding. By definition, they must have a wind speed of 119 km/hr, or 74 mph. Technically, only tropical cyclones (the scientific term for hurricane) that form in the Atlantic or eastern Pacific are deemed “hurricanes”. They are formed in a chain reaction that starts with the ocean warming the moist air on its surface. Because warm air rises, the air heated by the ocean rises, leaving a low pressure gap underneath, allowing surrounding air to flow in. This process continues with the new air, and eventually, new air begins swirling into the low pressure zone. The previously-warmed air, now pushed up by the new air, begins to condense and form clouds. This is the nascent form of a hurricane, which may or may not fully develop. Hurricanes were first

documented and named by Columbus, after the god of one of the local tribes. Hurricanes are also known as typhoons in the Northwest Pacific, cyclones in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific, or willy-willies in Australia.
Sources: http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/hurricanes/en/, http://www.cotf.edu/ETE/modules/sevweath/swwhatare.html

2) How has the use of technology improved hurricane prediction, warnings, and preparedness?
With the advent of satellite technology in the late 20th and early 21st century , the ability to predict hurricanes have vastly improved. Before satellites, meteorologists had to rely on simple statistical calculations and the analyzing of data from previous storms. They found that most of the storms followed the Poisson Distribution to some extent, although it wasn’t very accurate. Also, warning systems previously only given 3 days before expected landfall have now improved to issue the initial warning 5-7 days before expected landfall. Finally, in 2014, the Hurricane Center started giving warnings for possible rise in sea level and storm surge, not just wind speed. Because of 24/7 news and weather, the public can very easily stay informed and prepared.
Sources:http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2010/teams/neworleans1/predicting%20hurricanes.htm
http://www.livescience.com/21850-hurricane-forecast-improvements.html

3) How are hurricanes named?
Originally, hurricanes were classified by their latitude-longitude numbers.

However, for sake of clarity and to keep the public well-informed, hurricanes were then given male names from a list made by the National Hurricane Center. However, these were from a list that was reused every year. For example, if the name Alexander was the name of the first hurricane in 1950, then Alexander would also be the name of the first hurricane for 1951, 1952, and so on. A couple decades later, the system switched to only female names, adopting the tradition of sailors, who give their ships female names. Currently, the NHC uses both female and male names from lists that repeat every 6 years. So, the 2nd tropical storm or hurricane of 2006 is the same as the 2nd tropical storm or hurricane from 2012 (Beryl). The names go in alphabetical

order.
Sources: http://earthsky.org/earth/how-do-hurricanes-get-their-names

4) When and where did your hurricane occur? What weather conditions were present? How long did the hurricane last?
My hurricane, Frances, was the 6th hurricane of the 2006 season. It became a hurricane (wind speeds 74 mph or higher) on Aug. 26 at 5 PM, and reached its maximum wind speed of 145 mph on Aug. 31. Frances skimmed over the Bahamas as a Category 3, and hit Florida on Sept. 5 as a Category 2. It skimmed along the coast for a day and made its final landfall on Sept. 6. He caused quite a few offshoot tornadoes, thunderstorms, and huge amounts of rain after the system headed up through the mainland, the highest coming in at nearly 2 feet in North Carolina.
Sources: http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/hurricane/additional/sciencefocus/HurricaneFrances2004.shtml

5) What was the total dollar value of storm damage? What type of damage occurred? What was the human toll? How many deaths were caused by the storm?

Altogether, Frances cost $4.4 billion in insured property and $4.4 billion in uninsured, making the total approximately $9 billion. Compared to past hurricanes, Frances caused relatively little infrastructure damage. Some oceanfront property was either damaged or destroyed and overwash (waves crashing over the dunes and bringing sand into the towns and cities) were the two main problems. As for the human cost, Frances is directly responsible for seven deaths, with five in Florida, one in the Bahamas, and one in Ohio. Three of the deaths were caused by wind, two by storm surge, one by freshwater flooding, and one by lightning. 43 deaths are indirectly linked to Frances, with the majority from Florida.
Sources:
http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/hurricane/additional/science/focus/HurricaneFrances2004.shtml
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL062004_Frances.pdf
http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/frances/

6) Did you find any other information that you found particularly interesting? If so, please share and tell why you thought it was interesting.

One thing that was particularly interesting is that Frances began as nothing but a small tropical wave (a small area of low pressure) in Africa. Somehow, that small little pocket of low pressure air managed to transform into something as deadly and massive as a hurricane! It reminds me of the Butterfly Effect, where what seemingly unrelated, insignificant events link together to form something as destructive as a tropical cyclone that reportedly blew palm trees horizontal against the wind. Also, it’s interesting just to look at the numbers from the storm. 1.8 million power customers lost their electricity, and the number of people ordered to be evacuated was a staggering 2.8 million people from Florida, the largest in the history of the state. Those are bigger than the populations of small countries!
Sources:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/text/TWOAT/2004/TWOAT.200408210913
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WEATHER/09/05/hurricane.frances/index.html