THE HURRICANE

Hurricanes are intense low pressure areas that form over warm ocean waters in the summer
and early fall. Their source of energy is water vapor which is evaporated from the ocean
surface.

Water vapor is the "fuel" for the hurricanes because it releases the "latent heat of
condensation" when itcondenses to form clouds and rain, warming the surrounding air. (This
heat energy was absorbed by the water vapor when it was evaporated from the warm ocean
surface, cooling the ocean in the process.)

Usually, the heat released in this way in tropical thunderstorms is carried away by wind shear,
which blows the top off the thunderstorms. But when there is little wind shear, this heat can
build up, causing low pressure to form. The low pressure causes wind to begin to spiral inward
toward the center of the low.

These winds help to evaporate even more water vapor from the ocean, spiraling inward toward
the center, feeding more showers and thunderstorms, and warming the upper atmosphere still
more. The showers and thunderstorms where all of this energy is released are usually organized
into bands (sometimes called "rainbands" or "feeder bands"), as well as into an "eyewall"
encircling the center of the storm. The eyewall is where the strongest winds occur, which
encircle the warmest air, in the eye of the hurricane. This warmth in the eye is produced by
sinking air, which sinks in response to rising air in the thunderstorms. The winds diminish rapidly
moving from the eyewall to the inside of the relatively cloud-free eye, where calm winds can
exist.

HISTORY OF THE HURRYCANE

This killer weather system was first detected over the tropical Atlantic on August 27. While the
history of the track and intensity is not fully known, the system reached Cuba as a tropical storm
on September 3 and moved into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on the 5th. A general west-
northwestward motion occurred over the Gulf accompanied by rapid intensification. By the time
the storm reached the Texas coast south of Galveston late on September 8, it was a Category 4
hurricane. After landfall, the cyclone turned northward through the Great Plains. It became
extratropical and turned east-northeastward on September 11, passing across the Great Lakes,
New England, and southeastern Canada. It was last spotted over the north Atlantic on
September 15.

This hurricane was the deadliest weather disaster in United States history. Storm tides of 8 to 15
ft inundated the whole of Galveston Island, as well as other portions of the nearby Texas coast.
These tides were largely responsible for the 8,000 deaths (estimates range from 6,000 to
12,000) attributed to the storm. The damage to property was estimated at $30 million...

This fearsome cyclone was first detected near the Lesser Antilles on September 2. It moved
generally west-northwestward for several days, passing near the Dominican Republic on
September 4 and into the southeastern Bahamas on the 5th and 6th. At that time it became a
hurricane. A westward turn on September 7 took the center across the central Bahamas on the
7th and 8th and into the Straits of Florida on the 9th. The now large hurricane was of Category 4
intensity as the eye passed just south of Key West, Florida and the Dry Tortugas on September
10. A continued west to west-northwestward motion brought the center to the Texas coast
south of Corpus Christi as a Category 3 hurricane on September 14. The cyclone dissipated over
northern Mexico and southern Texas the next day.

Although hurricane-force winds occurred over the Florida Keys and the central and south Texas
coast, no reliable wind measurements are available from near the center. A storm surge of up to
12 ft inundated Corpus Christi, Texas causing major damage to the coastal areas. A ship moored
near the Dry Tortugas measured a pressure of 27.37 inches as the center passed, and based on
this, the storm is ranked as the third most intense to hit the United States.

The death toll was estimated at 600 to 900 people. Of these, more than 500 were lost on ten
ships that either sunk or were reported missing. Damage in the United States was estimated at
$22 million.

The "Great Miami" Hurricane was first spotted as a tropical wave located 1,000 miles east of the
Lesser Antilles on September 11th. The system moved quickly westward and intensified to
hurricane strength as it moved to the north of Puerto Rico on the 15th. Winds were reported to
be nearly 150 mph as the hurricane passed over the Turks Islands on the 16th and through the
Bahamas on the 17th. Little in the way of meteorological information on the approaching
hurricane was available to the Weather Bureau in Miami. As a result, hurricane warnings were
not issued until midnight on September 18th, which gave the booming population of South
Florida little notice of the impending disaster.

The Category 4 hurricane's eye moved directly over Miami Beach and downtown Miami during
the morning hours of the 18th. This cyclone produced the highest sustained winds ever
recorded in the United States at the time, and the barometric pressure fell to 27.61 inches as
the eye passed over Miami. A storm surge of nearly 15 feet was reported in Coconut Grove.
Many casualties resulted as people ventured outdoors during the half-hour lull in the storm as
the eye passed overhead. Most residents, having not experienced a hurricane, believed that the
storm had passed during the lull. They were suddenly trapped and exposed to the eastern half
of the hurricane shortly thereafter. Every building in the downtown district of Miami was
damaged or destroyed. The town of Moore Haven on the south side of Lake Okeechobee was
completely flooded by lake surge from the hurricane. Hundreds of people in Moore Haven alone
were killed by this surge, which left behind floodwaters in the town for weeks afterward.

The hurricane continued northwestward across the Gulf of Mexico and approached Pensacola
on September 20th. The storm nearly stalled to the south of Pensacola later that day and
buffeted the central Gulf Coast with 24 hours of heavy rainfall, hurricane force winds, and storm
surge. The hurricane weakened as it moved inland over Louisiana later on the 21st. Nearly every
pier, warehouse, and vessel on Pensacola Bay was destroyed.
The great hurricane of 1926 ended the economic boom in South Florida and would be a $90
billion disaster had it occurred in recent times. With a highly transient population across
southeastern Florida during the 1920s, the death toll is uncertain since more than 800 people
were missing in the aftermath of the cyclone. A Red Cross report lists 373 deaths and 6,381
injuries as a result of the hurricane.

This classic Cape Verde hurricane was first detected over the tropical Atlantic on September 10,
although it likely formed several days earlier. It moved westward through the Leeward Islands
on the 12th. It then turned west-northwestward, scoring a direct hit on Puerto Rico on the 13th
(the feast of San Felipe) as a Category 4 hurricane. The hurricane continued west-
northwestward through the Bahamas and made landfall near Palm Beach, Florida on September
16. It turned north-northeastward over the Florida Peninsula on the 17th, a motion which
brought the remains of the storm to eastern North Carolina on the 19th. It then turned
northward and merged with a non-tropical low over the eastern Great Lakes on September 20.

No reliable wind readings are available from near the landfall area in Florida. However, Palm
Beach reported a minimum pressure of 27.43 in, making this the fourth strongest hurricane of
record to hit the United States. In Puerto Rico, San Juan reported 144 mph sustained winds,
while Guayama reported a pressure of 27.65 inches. Additionally, a ship just south of St. Croix,
United States Virgin Islands (USVI) reported a pressure of 27.50 inches, while Guadeloupe in the
Leeward Islands reported a pressure of 27.76 inches.

This hurricane caused heavy casualties and extensive destruction along its path from the
Leeward Islands to Florida. The worst tragedy occurred at inland Lake Okeechobee in Florida,
where the hurricane caused a lake surge of 6 to 9 ft that inundated the surrounding area. 1,836
people died in Florida, mainly due to the lake surge. An additional 312 people died in Puerto
Rico, and 18 more were reported dead in the Bahamas. Damage to property was estimated at
$50,000,000 in Puerto Rico and $25,000,000 in Florida.

This system was first detected east of the central Bahamas on August 29. Moving westward, it
passed near Andros Island on September 1, at which time it reached hurricane strength and
turned west-northwestward. Phenomenal strengthening then occurred, and when the storm
reached the middle Florida Keys on September 2, it was a Category 5 hurricane. After roaring
through the Keys, the hurricane turned gradually northward almost parallel to the Florida west
coast until it again made landfall near Cedar Key as a Category 2 hurricane on the 4th. A
northeastward motion took the storm across the southeastern United States to the Atlantic
coast near Norfolk, Virgina on September 6. It continued into the Atlantic, becoming
extratropical on the 7th and last being detected on the 10th.

No wind measurements are available from the core of this small, but vicious hurricane. A
pressure of 26.35 inches measured at Long Key, Florida makes this the most intense hurricane of
record to hit the United States and the third most intense hurricane of record in the Atlantic
basin (surpassed only by the 26.05 inches in Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and 26.22 inches
observed in Hurricane Gilbert in 1988).

The combination of winds and tides were responsible for 408 deaths in the Florida Keys,
primarily among World War I veterans working in the area. Damage in the United States was
estimated at $6 million.

The "Long Island Express" was first detected over the tropical Atlantic on September 13,
although it may have formed a few days earlier. Moving generally west-northwestward, it
passed to the north of Puerto Rico on the 18th and 19th, likely as a category 5 hurricane. It
turned northward on September 20 and by the morning of the 21st it was 100 to 150 miles east
of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. At that point, the hurricane accelerated to a forward motion
of 60 to 70 mph, making landfall over Long Island and Connecticut that afternoon as a Category
3 hurricane. The storm became extratropical after landfall and dissipated over southeastern
Canada on September 22.

Blue Hill Observatory, Massachusetts measured sustained winds of 121 mph with gusts to 183
mph (likely influenced by terrain). A U.S. Coast Guard station on Long Island measured a
minimum pressure of 27.94 in. Storm surges of 10 to 12 ft inundated portions of the coast from
Long Island and Connecticut eastward to southeastern Massachusetts, with the most notable
surges in Narragansett Bay and Buzzards Bay. Heavy rains before and during the hurricane
produced river flooding, most notably along the Connecticut River.

This hurricane struck with little warning and was responsible for 600 deaths and $308 million in
damage in the United States.
his large and powerful hurricane was first detected northeast of the Leeward Islands on
September 9. It moved west-northwestward through the 12th, then turned northward on a
track that brought the center near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina on the 14th. The cyclone
accelerated north-northeastward, moving across eastern New England and into Canada by
September 15. The storm became extratropical over Canada and finally merged with a larger
low near Greenland on September 16. This hurricane was of Category 3 intensity at landfalls at
Cape Hatteras, Long Island, and Point Judith, Rhode Island, and Category 2 as far north as the
coast of Maine.

Cape Henry, VA reported 134 mph sustained winds (measured 90 ft above the ground) with
estimated gusts to 150 mph. Widespread hurricane-force winds were reported elsewhere along
the storm track from North Carolina to Massachusetts with a maximum reported gust of 109
mph at Hartford, Connecticut. Rainfall totals of 6 to 11 inches accompanied the storm.

While this hurricane caused 46 deaths and $100 million in damage in the United States, the
worst effects occurred at sea where it wreaked havoc on World War II shipping. Five ships,
including a U. S. Navy destroyer and minesweeper, two U. S. Coast Guard cutters, and a light
vessel, sank due to the storm causing 344 deaths.

Hurricanes Carol and Edna 1954

Carol formed near the central
Bahama Islands on August 25,
and moved slowly northward
and north-northwestward. By
August 30 it was a hurricane
about 100-150 miles east of
Charleston, South Carolina. It
then accelerated north-
northeastward, make landfall as
a Category 3 hurricane over Long Island, New York and Connecticut on the 31st. The cyclone
became extratropical later that day as it crossed the remainder of New England and
southeastern Canada.

Sustained winds of 80 to 100 mph were reported over much of eastern Connecticut, all of
Rhode Island, and eastern Massachusetts. A peak gust of 130 mph was reported at Block Island,
Rhode Island, while gusts of 100 to 125 mph occurred over much of the rest of the affected
area. Storm surge flooding occurred along the New England coast from Long Island northward,
with water depths of 8 to 10 ft reported in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. Carol was
responsible for 60 deaths and $461 million in damage in the United States.

No discussion of Carol is complete without mention of the remarkably similar Hurricane Edna.
This storm first formed east of the Windward Islands on September 2. It moved northwestward,
and by September 7 it was a hurricane very near where Carol had formed two weeks before.
From this point, Edna followed a path just east of Carol's. It accelerated past Cape Hatteras,
North Carolina on September 10 and made landfall over Cape Cod as a Category 3 hurricane the
next day. Edna moved across Maine into eastern Canada later on the 11th as it became
extratropical.

Martha's Vinyard, Massachusetts reported a peak wind gust of 120 mph during Edna, and much
of the rest of the affected area had gusts of 80 to 100 mph. The storm was responsible for 20
deaths and $40 million in damage in the United States.

Hurricane Hazel 1954

Hazel was first spotted east of the Windward Islands on October
5. It moved through the islands later that day as a hurricane,
then it moved westward over the southern Caribbean Sea
through October 8. A slow turn to the north-northeast occurred
from October 9-12, with Hazel crossing western Haiti as a
hurricane on the 12th. The hurricane turned northward and
crossed the southeastern Bahamas on the 13th, followed by a
northwestward turn on the 14th. Hazel turned north and
accelerated on October 15, making landfall as a Category 4
hurricane near the North Carolina-South Carolina border. Subsequent rapid motion over the
next 12 hours took the storm from the coast across the eastern United States into southeastern
Canada as it became extratropical.

High winds occurred over large portions of the eastern United States. Myrtle Beach, South
Carolina reported a peak wind gust of 106 mph, and winds were estimated at 130 to 150 mph
along the coast between Myrtle Beach and Cape Fear, North Carolina. Washington, DC reported
78 mph sustained winds, and peak gusts of over 90 mph occurred as far northward as inland
New York state. A storm surge of up to 18 ft inundated portions of the North Carolina coast.
Heavy rains of up to 11 inches occurred as far northward as Toronto, Canada resulting in severe
flooding.
Hazel was responsible for 95 deaths and $281 million in damage in the United States, 100
deaths and $100 million in damage in Canada, and an estimated 400 to 1000 deaths in Haiti.

Hurricanes Connie and Diane

1955
These two
hurricanes
must be
mentioned
together. They
struck the
North Carolina coast only five
days apart, and the rains from
Connie set the stage for the devastating floods caused by Diane.

Connie was first detected as a tropical storm over the tropical Atlantic on August 3. It moved
just north of west for several days, reaching hurricane strength several hundred miles northeast
of the Leeward Islands on the 5th. After passing north of the Leewards on the 6th, Connie
turned northwestward - a motion that continued until the 10th. An erratic, generally north-
northwestward motion then brought Connie to the North Carolina coast on August 12 as a
Category 3 hurricane. This was followed by a gradual northwestward turn through August 14,
when Connie dissipated over the eastern Great Lakes.

Fort Macon, North Carolina reported 75 mph sustained winds with gusts to 100 mph, while a
storm surge of up to 8 ft occurred along the coast. There were no reported deaths and the
damage in the United States was $40 million. However, the most significant aspect of Connie
was the rainfall of up to 12 inches that affected the northeastern United States.

Diane was first detected over the tropical Atlantic on August 7. Moving generally west-
northwestward, the cyclone became a tropical storm on the 9th. Diane became a hurricane on
August 11, by which time it was moving northwestward. A northward turn occurred on the
12th, followed by a westward turn on the 13th and a west-northwestward motion on the 14th.
This motion brought Diane to the North Carolina coast on August 17 as a Category 1 hurricane.
The storm turned northward across Virginia, then it turned northeastward and moved back into
the Atlantic near Long Island, New York on August 19. Diane became extratropical over the
North Atlantic on the 21st.
Hurricane conditions affected only a small part of the North Carolina coast, and the damage
from winds and tides was relatively minor. The main impact was heavy rains. Diane poured 10 to
20 inches of rain on areas soaked by Connie just a few days before, producing widespread
severe flooding from North Carolina to Massachusetts. The floods were responsible were 184
deaths and $832 million in damage.

Hurricane Audrey 1957

Audrey was first detected over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico
on June 24. It moved slowly northward as it became a tropical
storm and a hurricane the next day. A faster northward motion
brought the center to the coast near the Texas-Louisiana border
on the 27th. Rapid strengthening in the last six hours before
landfall meant Audrey made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane.
The cyclone turned northeastward after landfall, becoming
extratropical over northern Mississippi on June 28 and merging
with another low over the Great Lakes the next day. The
combined system was responsible for strong winds and heavy rains over portions of the eastern
United States and Canada.

No reliable wind or pressure measurements are available from Audrey's core at landfall. The
main impact was from 8 to 12 ft storm surges that penetrated as far inland as 25 miles over
portions of low-lying southwestern Louisiana. These surges were responsible for the vast
majority of the 390 deaths from Audrey. Damage in the United States was estimated at $150
million.

Hurricane Donna 1960

One of the all-time great hurricanes, Donna was first detected as a tropical
wave moving off the African coast on August 29. It became a tropical storm
over the tropical Atlantic the next day and a hurricane on September 1.
Donna followed a general west-northwestward track for the following five
days, passing over the northern Leeward Islands on the 4th and 5th as a
Category 4 hurricane and then to the north of Puerto Rico later on the 5th.
 Donna turned westward on September 7 and passed through
the southeastern Bahamas. A northwestward turn on the 9th
brought the hurricane to the middle Florida Keys the next day at
Category 4 intensity. Donna then curved northeastward,
crossing the Florida Peninsula on September 11, followed by
eastern North Carolina (Category 3) on the 12th, and the New
England states (Category 3 on Long Island and Categories 1 to 2
elsewhere) on the 12th and 13th. The storm became
extratropical over eastern Canada on the 13th.

Donna is the only hurricane of record to produce hurricane-force winds in Florida, the Mid-
Atlantic states, and New England. Sombrero Key, Florida reported 128 mph sustained winds with
gusts to 150 mph. In the Mid-Atlantic states, Elizabeth City, North Carolina reported 83 mph
sustained winds, while Manteo, North Carolina reported a 120 mph gust. In New England, Block
Island, Rhode Island reported 95 mph sustained winds with gusts to 130 mph.

Donna caused storm surges of up to 13 ft in the Florida Keys and 11 ft surges along the
southwest coast of Florida. Four to eight ft surges were reported along portions of the North
Carolina coast, with 5 to 10 ft surges along portions of the New England coast. Heavy rainfalls of
10 to 15 inches occurred in Puerto Rico, 6 to 12 inches in Florida, and 4 to 8 inches elsewhere
along the path of the hurricane.

The landfall pressure of 27.46 inches makes Donna the fifth strongest hurricane of record to hit
the United States. It was responsible for 50 deaths in the United States. One hundred and
fourteen deaths were reported from the Leeward Islands to the Bahamas, including 107 in
Puerto Rico caused by flooding from the heavy rains. The hurricane caused $387 million in
damage in the United States and $13 million elsewhere along its path.

Hurricane Camille 1969

This powerful, deadly, and destructive
hurricane formed just west of the
Cayman Islands on August 14. It rapidly
intensified and by the time it reached
western Cuba the next day it was a
Category 3 hurricane. Camille tracked
north-northwestward across the Gulf of
Mexico and became a Category 5 hurricane on August 16. The
hurricane maintained this intensity until it made landfall along
the Mississippi coast late on the 17th. Camille weakened to a tropical depression as it crossed
Mississippi into western Tennessee and Kentucky, then it turned eastward across West Virginia
and Virginia. The cyclone moved into the Atlantic on August 20 and regained tropical storm
strength before becoming extratropical on the 22nd.

A minimum pressure of 26.84 inches was reported in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, which makes
Camille the second most intense hurricane of record to hit the United States. The actual
maximum sustained winds will never be known, as the hurricane destroyed all the wind-
recording instruments in the landfall area. The estimates at the coast are near 200 mph.
Columbia, Mississippi, located 75 miles inland, reported 120 mph sustained winds. A storm tide
of 24.6 ft occurred at Pass Christian, Mississippi. The heaviest rains along the Gulf Coast were
about 10 inches. However, as Camille passed over the Virginias, it produced a burst of 12 to 20
inch rains with local totals of up to 31 inches. Most of this rain occurred in 3 to 5 hours and
caused catastrophic flash flooding.

The combination of winds, surges, and rainfalls caused 256 deaths (143 on the Gulf Coast and
113 in the Virginia floods) and $1.421 billion in damage. Three deaths were reported in Cuba.

Hurricane Agnes 1972

The large disturbance that became
Agnes was first detected over the
Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico on
June 14. The system drifted
eastward and became a tropical
depression later that day and a
tropical storm over the
northwestern Caribbean on the
16th. Agnes turned northward on
June 17 and became a hurricane over the southeastern Gulf of
Mexico the next day. A continued northward motion brought Agnes to the Florida Panhandle
coast on June 19 as a Category 1 hurricane. Agnes turned northeastward after landfall and
weakened to a depression over Georgia. However, it regained tropical storm strength over
eastern North Carolina on June 21 and moved into the Atlantic later that day. A northwestward
turn followed, and a just-under-hurricane-strength Agnes made a final landfall on the 22nd near
New York, New York. The storm merged with a non-tropical low on June 23rd, with the
combined system affecting the northeastern United States until the 25th.
Agnes was barely a hurricane at landfall in Florida, and the effects of winds and storm surges
were relatively minor. The major impact was over the northeastern United States, where Agnes
combined with the non-tropical low to produce widespread rains of 6 to 12 inches with local
amounts of 14 to 19 inches. These rains produced widespread severe flooding from Virginia
northward to New York, with other flooding occurring over the western portions of the
Carolinas.

Agnes caused 122 deaths in the United States. Nine of these were in Florida (mainly from severe
thunderstorms) while the remainder were associated with the flooding. The storm was
responsible for $2.1 billion in damage in the United States, the vast majority of which came
from the flooding. Agnes also affected western Cuba, where seven additional deaths occurred.

Tropical Storm Claudette 1979

Claudette was first detected as a tropical wave that moved off
the African coast on July 11. The wave spawned a tropical
depression on July 16 that briefly became a tropical storm the
next day as it approached the Leeward and Virgin Islands.
Claudette weakened to a tropical depression and then a tropical
wave while passing near Puerto Rico on the 18th, and little re-
development occurred until the system moved into the
southeastern Gulf of Mexico on the 21st. Claudette regained
tropical storm strength over the western Gulf on July 23 and
made landfall the next day near the Louisiana-Texas border. It made a slow loop over
southeastern Texas on the 24th and 25th, followed by a northward motion into Oklahoma on
the 27th. The remnants of Claudette turned eastward and merged with a frontal system over
West Virginia on July 29.

Claudette produced tropical storm conditions along portions of the Texas and Louisiana coasts,
but the storm will be most remembered for its rainfall. Widespread amounts in excess of 10
inches occurred over portions of southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana, with several
local amounts in excess of 30 inches. An observer west of Alvin, Texas reported 43 inches in 24
hours, which is a United States record for 24 hour rainfall amount. The storm total at that
location was 45 inches. The rains produced severe flooding that was responsible for one death
and $400 million in damage. The storm also produced heavy rains over portions of Puerto Rico
that were responsible for one death.
 Hurricane Alicia 1983
Alicia formed over the north central
Gulf of Mexico on August 15. It
drifted slowly westward and
northwestward while steadily
strengthening on the 16th and 17th.
This motion brought Alicia over the
western end of Galveston Island,
Texas as a Category 3 hurricane on
August 18. Alicia moved northwestward into Oklahoma as a
tropical depression on August 19, then turned northward before dissipating over Nebraska on
the 21st.

The Coast Guard cutter Buttonwood moored at Galveston reported sustained winds of 96 mph
with gusts to 125 mph. Hobby Airport at Houston, Texas reported 94 mph sustained winds with
gusts to 107 mph. Wind gusts of hurricane force in downtown Houston littered the streets with
broken glass as windows broke in the high-rise buildings. Additionally, twenty-three tornadoes
were reported from Alicia.

Hurricane Gilbert 1988

A tropical wave exiting the African
coastline on September 3rd developed
into the 12th tropical depression of the
season on September 8th while
approaching the Windward Islands. The
cyclone rapidly strengthened to
hurricane status on September 10th as a west-northwest
motion brought Gilbert into the eastern Caribbean Sea. Gilbert
passed directly over Jamaica on September 12th as a major
hurricane, becoming the first direct impact for the island from a hurricane since 1951. Winds
gusted to nearly 150 mph as Gilbert produced a 9-foot storm surge along Jamaicas northeast
coast. Jamaica was devastated as the eyewall traversed the entire length of the island. During
this period the eye contracted from 25 nmi to only 12 nmi upon exiting Jamaica.

Gilbert emerged off the western coastline of Jamaica and began a period of extraordinarily rapid
intensification. The ferocious hurricane strengthened to Category 4 status as its northern
eyewall pounded Grand Cayman Island with 155 mph wind gusts early on September 13th.
Gilberts remarkable intensification trend continued as the cyclone reached Category 5 status on
the afternoon of the 13th and eventually reached peak winds of 185 mph. The minimum central
pressure of the cyclone plummeted to 888 millibars, which represented a 70-millibar drop in
only a 24-hour period. This minimum central pressure recorded by NOAA aircraft was the lowest
pressure ever recorded in the western hemisphere until Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Gilbert
crossed the northeast coast of Mexicos Yucatan peninsula on September 14th, becoming the
first Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic basin to strike land since Camille in 1969.

Gilbert weakened over the Yucatan peninsula and emerged into the western Gulf of Mexico as a
Category 2 hurricane. Gilberts large circulation regained major hurricane status as the cyclone
continued on a west-northwest course on the 16th. The hurricane made its final landfall near
the town of La Pesca on the Mexican Gulf Coast on the evening of September 16th as a strong
Category 3 hurricane. Gilberts remnants spawned 29 tornadoes over Texas on September 18th,
with flooding spreading to the Midwest as the remnants merged with a frontal boundary over
Missouri on September 19th. Although no reliable measurements of storm surge exist from
Gilberts two Mexican landfalls, estimates are that Gilbert produced between 15 and 20 feet of
surge along the Yucatan and 8 to 13 feet at landfall in mainland Mexico.

Gilberts large size and impacts were felt over much of the Caribbean, Central America as well as
portions of the United States. The death toll of 318 gives an idea of the scope of Gilbert's
impacts: Mexico 202, Jamaica 45, Haiti 30, Guatemala 12, Honduras 12, Dominican Republic 5,
Venezuela 5, United States 3, Costa Rica 2, and Nicaragua 2. The deaths from Costa Rica,
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Venezuela were caused by inland flash flooding from
outer rainbands.

Hurricane Hugo 1989

This classic Cape Verde hurricane
was first detected as a tropical wave
emerging from the coast of Africa on
September 9. Moving steadily
westward, the system became a
tropical depression the next day, a
tropical storm on the 11th, and a
hurricane on the 13th. Hugo turned west-northwest on
September 15 as it became a Category 5 hurricane. It was still a
Category 4 hurricane when the center moved through the Leeward Islands and St. Croix, USVI,
and the 18th. Turning northwestward, the center passed across the eastern end of Puerto Rico
on September 19. This general motion would continue with some acceleration until Hugo made
landfall just north of Charleston, South Carolina on 22 September. Strengthening in the last
twelve hours before landfall made Hugo a Category 4 hurricane at the coast. After landfall, the
storm gradually recurved northeastward, becoming extratropical over southeastern Canada on
September 23.

The Naval Air Station at Roosevelt Roads, PR reported sustained winds of 104 mph with gusts to
120 mph, which were the highest winds reported from the Caribbean. A ship moored in the
Sampit River in South Carolina measured sustained winds of 120 mph. High winds associated
with Hugo extended far inland, with Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina reporting 67 mph
sustained winds with gusts to 110 mph and Charlotte, North Carolina reporting 69 mph
sustained winds and gusts to 99 mph.

Storm surge from Hugo inundated the South Carolina Coast from Charleston to Myrtle Beach,
with maximum storm tides of 20 ft observed in the Cape Romain-Bulls Bay area.

Hugo was responsible for 21 deaths in the mainland United States, five more in Puerto Rico and
the U. S. Virgin Islands, and 24 more elsewhere in the Caribbean. Damage estimates are $7
billion in the mainland United States and $1 billion in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Hurricane Andrew 1992

One of the most destructive United
States hurricanes of record started
modestly as a tropical wave that
emerged from the west coast of Africa
on August 14. The wave spawned a
tropical depression on August 16,
which became Tropical Storm Andrew
the next day. Further development
was slow, as the west-northwestward
moving Andrew encountered an unfavorable upper-level trough. Indeed, the storm almost
dissipated on August 20 due to vertical wind shear. By August 21, Andrew was midway between
Bermuda and Puerto Rico and turning westward into a more favorable environment. Rapid
strengthening occurred, with Andrew reaching hurricane strength on the 22nd and Category 4
status on the 23rd. After briefly weakening over the Bahamas, Andrew regained Category 4
status as it blasted its way across south Florida on August 24. The hurricane continued
westward into the Gulf of Mexico where it gradually turned northward. This motion brought
Andrew to the central Louisiana coast on August 26 as a Category 3 hurricane. Andrew then
turned northeastward, eventually merging with a frontal system over the Mid-Atlantic states on
August 28.
Reports from private barometers helped establish that Andrew's central pressure at landfall in
Homestead, Florida was 27.23 inches, which makes it the third most intense hurricane of record
to hit the United States. Andrew's peak winds in south Florida were not directly measured due
to destruction of the measuring instruments. An automated station at Fowey Rocks reported
142 mph sustained winds with gusts to 169 mph (measured 144 ft above the ground), and
higher values may have occurred after the station was damaged and stopped reporting. The
National Hurricane Center had a peak gust of 164 mph (measured 130 ft above the ground),
while a 177 mph gust was measured at a private home. Additionally, Berwick, LA reported 96
mph sustained winds with gusts to 120 mph.

Andrew produced a 17 ft storm surge near the landfall point in Florida, while storm tides of at
least 8 ft inundated portions of the Louisiana coast. Andrew also produced a killer tornado in
southeastern Louisiana.

Andrew is responsible for 23 deaths in the United States and three more in the Bahamas. The
hurricane caused $26.5 billion in damage in the United States, of which $1 billion occurred in
Louisiana and the rest in south Florida. The vast majority of the damage in Florida was due to
the winds. Damage in the Bahamas was estimated at $250 million.

Tropical Storm Alberto 1994

Alberto was first detected as a tropical
wave that moved off the African coast on
18 June. The wave moved into the western
Caribbean by late June and formed into a
tropical depression near the western tip of
Cuba on June 30. The cyclone moved
northwest through July 1 as it became a
tropical storm, then it turned northward.
This motion continued until the cyclone
made landfall in the western Florida Panhandle on the 4th. Alberto then moved north-
northeastward into western Georgia, where it did a loop on the 5th and 6th. The cyclone finally
dissipated over central Alabama on July 7.

Alberto's winds and tides produced only minor damage at the coast, but the excessive rains that
fell in Georgia, Alabama, and western Florida were another story. Amounts exceeded 10 inches
in many locations, with the maximum being the 27.61 inch storm total at Americus, GA
(including 21 inches in 24 hours). Severe flooding resulted over large portions of southern
Georgia, western Alabama, and the western Florida Panhandle. The floods were responsible for
30 deaths and $500 million in damage.
Hurricane Opal 1995
Opal was first detected as a tropical wave moving off the African
coast on September 11. The waved moved westward through the
Atlantic and Caribbean and merged with a broad low pressure
area over the western Caribbean on September 23. The
combined system then developed into a tropical depression near
the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula on September 27. The
depression drifted slowly northward, becoming Tropical Storm
Opal as it reached the north coast of Yucatan on the 30th. Opal
then moved slowly westward into the Bay of Campeche, where it
became a hurricane on October 2. A gradual north-northeastward turn started later on the 2nd,
with acceleration on the 3rd and 4th. Opal continued to strengthen, and a period of rapid
strengthening late of the 3rd and early on the 4th made it a Category 4 hurricane. Weakening
followed, and Opal was a Category 3 hurricane when it made landfall near Pensacola Beach,
Florida late on the 4th. Opal continued quickly north-northeastward and became extratropical
over the Ohio Valley on the 5th. The cyclone was last seen over the eastern Great Lakes on
October 6.

Hurlbert Field, Florida reported sustained winds of 84 mph with a peak gust of 144 mph, and
gusts to 70 mph occurred as far inland as northwest Georgia. However, the main impact from
Opal was from storm surge. A combination of storm surge and breaking waves inundated
portions of the western Florida Panhandle coast to a depth of 10 to 20 ft. The surge was
responsible for the bulk of the $3 billion in damage attributed to Opal in the United States.

Opal was responsible for 9 deaths in the United States, including 8 from falling trees and one
from a tornado. Opal was responsible for 50 deaths in Mexico and Guatemala due to flooding
caused by heavy rains.

Hurricane Mitch 1998

This powerful hurricane began developing over the southwestern
Caribbean Sea on 22 October. It drifted westward and became a
tropical storm later that day, then turned northward and became a
hurricane by the 24th. Mitch then turned westward again and
rapidly strengthened, becoming a Category 5 hurricane with a
central pressure of 905 mb on the 26th. After passing over Swan
Island on the 27th, a weakening Mitch moved slowly southward
 near the coastal Islands of Honduras. It made landfall over
northern Honduras on the 29th as a Category 1 hurricane.
Mitch gradually turned westward after landfall, and the surface
center dissipated neat the Guatemala-Honduras border on 1
November.

The remnant circulation aloft reached the Bay of Campeche on

2 November and began developing again. The re-born Mitch
became a tropical storm on 3 November, then moved
northeastward across the Yucatan Peninsula on the 4th. Mitch
crossed south Florida as a tropical storm on the 5th and then became extratropical later that
day. The extratropical cyclone remained strong as it crossed the Atlantic, eventually affecting
the British Isles and Iceland on the 9th and 10th.

Mitch ravaged the offshore islands of Honduras with high winds, seas, and storm surge.
However the greatest impact was widespread heavy rains and severe floods in Honduras,
Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Mitch caused an estimated 9,000 deaths in Central
America with another 9,000 missing. Thirty-one people died when the schooner Fantome sank
as it encountered the high winds and seas associated with the hurricane. Two people died in the
Florida Keys when a fishing boat capsized. Mitch caused tremendous property, infrastructure,
and crop damage in Central America, and an additional $40 million in damage in Florida.

Hurricane Floyd 1999

Floyd was first detected as a
tropical wave that moved off the
African coast on September 2. The
system developed into a tropical
depression over the tropical
Atlantic on September 7. Moving
steadily west-northwestward, the
system became a tropical storm
the next day and a hurricane on the 10th. A northwestward
turn late on the 10th was followed by a westward turn on the 12th, with the second turn
marking the time Floyd started strengthening in earnest. It became a Category 4 hurricane on
September 13 as it approached the central Bahama Islands. A west-northwestward turn late on
the 13th took the center through the northeastern Bahamas. This was followed by a gradual
turn to the north-northeast, which brought the center to the North Carolina coast near Cape
Fear on September 16 as a Category 2 hurricane. Floyd continued north-northeastward along
the coast of the Mid-Atlantic into New England, where the storm became extratropical on the
17th. The remnants of Floyd merged with a large non-tropical low on September 19.

While wind gusts of 120 mph and storm surges of 9 to 10 ft were reported from the North
Carolina coast, Floyd will be most remembered in the United States for its rainfall. The
combination of Floyd and a frontal system over the eastern United States produced widespread
rainfalls in excess of 10 inches from North Carolina northeastward, with amounts as high as
19.06 inches in Wilmington, North Carolina and 13.70 inches at Brewster, New York. These rains,
aided by rains from Tropical Storm Dennis two weeks earlier, caused widespread severe flooding
that caused the majority of the $3 to 6 billion in damage caused by Floyd. These floods also
were responsible for 50 of the 56 deaths caused by Floyd in the United States. Floyd also caused
damage in the Bahamas, with one death reported.

Hurricane Keith 2000

Keith began developing on 28
September when a tropical
depression formed over the
northwestern Caribbean Sea. The
cyclone moved slowly
northwestward on the 29th as it
became a tropical storm, then it rapidly intensified into a
Category 4 hurricane on the 30th while drifting westward
toward the coast of Belize. Keith stalled with the eyewall over
the offshore islands of Belize on 1 October, and it wasn't until the 3rd that the center made
landfall in Belize. Keith weakened during this time and was a tropical storm at landfall. It moved
west-northwestward over the Yucatan Peninsula and further weakened to a depression on the
4th.

Keith emerged in the Bay of Campeche late that day and quickly regained tropical storm
strength. It again became a hurricane on the 5th before making landfall just north of Tampico,
Mexico as a Category 1 hurricane. The cyclone dissipated over northeastern Mexico the next
day.

Keith was responsible for 24 deaths - 12 in Nicaragua, 5 in Belize, 6 in Honduras, and 1 in

Mexico. The deaths in Belize occurred when two catamarans broke loose during the storm,
while 5 of the deaths in Honduras occurred when an airplane disappeared near Roatan Island.
Damage to property, agriculture, and tourism in Belize was estimated at $225 million.
 Tropical Storm Allison 2001
Allison's long and complex career began on 5 June as an area of
disturbed weather over the northwestern Gulf of Mexico
developed into a tropical storm. The storm made landfall near
Freeport, Texas later that day. Allison weakened to a depression
on the 6th, while drifting northward, then it made a slow loop
over southeastern Texas from the 7th to the 9th. The cyclone
moved into the Gulf of Mexico on the 10th and acquired
subtropical characteristics. It then moved east-northeastward
over southeastern Louisiana on the 11th, where it re-intensified
into a subtropical storm. Allison weakened back to a subtropical depression on the 12th while
continuing east-northeastward, and this motion carried it to southeastern North Carolina by the
14th where it again stalled. The cyclone drifted northward to northeastward drift over land on
the 15th and 16th. This was followed by a faster northeastward motion on the 17th as the
center emerged into the Atlantic. Allison regained subtropical storm strength later that day
before becoming extratropical on the 18th southeast of Cape Cod. The system dissipated
southeast of Nova Scotia the next day.

Allison brought tropical-storm-force winds and above normal tides to portions of the Texas and
Louisiana coasts. However, the greatest legacy of the cyclone was the widespread heavy rains
and resulting floods along the entire path of the cyclone (figure). Houston, Texas, was the worst
affected area, as the Port of Houston reported 36.99 inches and several other locations
reported more than 30 inches (figure). The storm also spawned 23 tornadoes. Allison was
responsible for 41 deaths and at least $5 billion in damage in the United States, making it the
deadliest and costliest U. S. tropical storm of record.

Hurricane Iris 2001

Iris first became a tropical
depression just east of the lesser
Antilles on 4 October. The
depression tracked west-
northwestward into the eastern
Caribbean where it became a
tropical storm on the 5th and a
hurricane on the 6th. Iris then turned westward, passing just
south of Jamaica on the 7th. The storm then moved quickly
west-southwestward toward the coast of Belize as it became a small but powerful Category 4
hurricane on the 8th (figure). Iris made landfall over southern Belize early on the 9th at
Category 4 intensity, then quickly weakened after landfall to dissipation later that day.

The winds and storm surges of Iris caused severe damage over portions of the southern Belize
coast. The storm was responsible for 31 deaths, including 20 in Belize, 8 in Guatemala, and 3 in
the Dominican Republic. The deaths in Belize occurred when the M/V Wave Dancer capsized in
port, killing 20 of the 28 people on board.

Hurricane Isabel 2003

A well-organized but slow moving
tropical wave that exited the
African coastline on September 1st
developed into Tropical Storm
Isabel on the morning of
September 6th. Isabel became a
hurricane on September 7th and
rapidly intensified to Category 4 hurricane strength on the
evening of the 8th while the eye was located more than 1100
miles to the east of the Leeward Islands. This impressive hurricane reached Category 5 strength
on September 11th, making Isabel the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic basin since Mitch in
October 1998. The cyclone turned northwestward around the western periphery of the Atlantic
ridge beginning on the 15th. Isabel began to weaken on the 15th as conditions aloft became
more hostile, and it fell below major hurricane strength for the first time in eight days on the
16th.

Although weakening, Isabels wind field continued to expand as hurricane warnings were issued
for most of the North Carolina and Virginia coastline, including the Chesapeake Bay. Isabels
large eye pushed ashore just after the noon hour on September 18th near Drum Inlet along
North Carolinas Outer Banks. Isabel was the worst hurricane to affect the Chesapeake Bay
region since 1933. Storm surge values of more than 8 feet flooded rivers that flowed into the
Bay across Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. Isabel brought tropical storm
force gusts as far north as New York State as it moved inland. The most intense hurricane of the
2003 season directly resulted in 17 deaths and more than 3 billion dollars* in damages. The
large wind field toppled trees and cut power to more than four million customers.

Hurricane Charley 2004

Charley originated from a tropical wave, developing into a tropical depression on August 9
 about 115 miles south-southeast of Barbados. The depression
strengthened within a low-shear environment to a tropical
storm early the next day in the eastern Caribbean, and became
a hurricane on the 11th near Jamaica. Charley's center passed
about 40 miles southwest of the southwest coast of Jamaica,
and then passed about 15 miles northeast of Grand Cayman as
the hurricane reached category 2 strength on the 12th. Charley
turned to the north-northwest and continued to strengthen,
making landfall in western Cuba as a category 3 hurricane with
120 m.p.h. maximum winds. Charley weakened just after its passage over western Cuba; its
maximum winds decreased to about 110 m.p.h. by the time the center reached the Dry
Tortugas around 8 am on the 13th.

Charley then came under the influence of an unseasonably strong mid-tropospheric trough that
had dropped from the east-central United States into the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane
turned north-northeastward and accelerated toward the southwest coast of Florida as it began
to intensify rapidly; dropsonde measurements indicate that Charley's central pressure fell from
964 mb to 941 mb in 4.5 hours. By 10 am, the maximum winds had increased to near 125
m.p.h., and three hours later had increased to 145 m.p.h. - category 4 strength. Charley made
landfall with maximum winds near 150 m.p.h. on the southwest coast of Florida just north of
Captiva Island around 3:45 pm. An hour later, Charley's eye passed over Punta Gorda. The
hurricane then crossed central Florida, passing near Kissimmee and Orlando. Charley was still of
hurricane intensity around midnight when its center cleared the northeast coast of Florida near
Daytona Beach. After moving into the Atlantic, Charley came ashore again near Cape Romain,
South Carolina near midday on the 14th as a category 1 hurricane. The center then moved just
offshore before making a final landfall at North Myrtle Beach. Charley soon weakened to a
tropical storm over southeastern North Carolina and became extratropical on the 15th as it
moved back over water near Virginia Beach.

Although ferocious, Charley was a very small hurricane at its Florida landfall, with its maximum
winds and storm surge located only about 6-7 miles from the center. This helped minimize the
extent and amplitude of the storm surge, which likely did not exceed 7 feet. However, the
hurricane's violent winds devastated Punta Gorda and neighboring Port Charlotte. Rainfall
amounts were generally modest, less than 8 inches. Charley also produced 16 tornadoes in
Florida, North Carolina and Virginia. The total U. S. damage is estimated to be near $15 billion,
making Charley the second costliest hurricane in U.S. history. Casualties were remarkably low,
given the strength of the hurricane and the destruction that resulted. Charley was directly
responsible for ten deaths in the United States. There were also four deaths in Cuba and one in
Jamaica.
 Hurricane Frances 2004
Frances developed from a tropical wave, becoming a tropical
depression on August 25 several hundred miles west-southwest
of the southern Cape Verde Islands, a tropical storm later that
day, and a hurricane the following day. Frances moved generally
west-northwestward for the next several days, passing north of
the Leeward Islands on the 31st and just north of the Turks and
Caicos Islands on the 2nd . During this time, Frances' peak
winds reached 145 m.p.h. (category 4) on two occasions while
the hurricane underwent a series of concentric eyewall cycles.
Westerly wind shear then caused Frances to weaken to a category 2 hurricane by the time it
passed over the northwestern Bahamas on the 4th . Frances made landfall near Stuart, Florida
just after midnight on the 5th with 105 m.p.h. (category 2) maximum winds. Frances gradually
weakened as it moved slowly across the Florida Peninsula, and became a tropical storm just
before emerging into the northeastern Gulf of Mexico early on September 6. Frances made a
final landfall in the Florida Big Bend region that afternoon as a tropical storm. Frances weakened
over the southeastern United States and became extratropical over West Virginia on the 9th .

Frances produced a storm surge of nearly 6 feet at its Florida east coast landfall, and caused
widespread heavy rains and associated freshwater flooding over much of the eastern United
States, with a maximum reported rainfall of 18.07 inches at Linville Falls, North Carolina. Frances
was also associated with an outbreak of over 100 tornadoes throughout the southeastern and
mid-Atlantic states. Eight deaths resulted from the forces of the storm - seven in the United
States and one in the Bahamas. U.S. damage is estimated to be near $8.9 billion, over 90% of
which occurred in Florida.

Hurricane Ivan 2004

Ivan developed from a large tropical wave that crossed the west
coast of Africa on August 31, and spawned a tropical depression
two days later. The depression reached storm strength on
September 3rd (one of only a dozen on record to do so south of
10EN) and continued to strengthen. By the 5th , Ivan had
become a hurricane about 1150 miles east of the southern
Windward Islands. Eighteen hours later Ivan became the
southernmost storm to reach major hurricane status, at 10.2EN.
Ivan was a category 3 hurricane when the center passed about
7 miles south of Grenada, a path that took the northern eyewall of Ivan directly over the island.
In the Caribbean, Ivan became a category 5 hurricane, with winds of 160 m.p.h., on the 9th
when it was south of the Dominican Republic, and on two occasions the minimum pressure fell
to 910 mb. The center of Ivan passed within about 20 miles of Jamaica on the 11th and a similar
distance from Grand Cayman on the 12th , with Grand Cayman likely experiencing sustained
winds of category 4 strength. Ivan then turned to the northwest and passed through the
Yucatan channel on the 14th , bringing hurricane conditions to extreme western Cuba. Ivan
moved across the east-central Gulf of Mexico, making landfall as a major hurricane with
sustained winds of near 120 m.p.h. on the 16th just west of Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Ivan weakened as it moved inland, producing over 100 tornadoes and heavy rains across much
of the southeastern United States, before merging with a frontal system over the Delmarva
Peninsula on the 18th. While this would normally be the end of the story, the extratropical
remnant low of Ivan split off from the frontal system and drifted southward in the western
Atlantic for several days, crossed southern Florida, and re-entered the Gulf of Mexico on the
21st. The low re-acquired tropical characteristics, becoming a tropical storm for the second time
on the 22nd in the central Gulf. Ivan weakened before it made its final landfall in southwestern
Louisiana as a tropical depression on the 24th.

Ivan's storm surge completely over-washed the island of Grand Cayman, where an estimated
95% of the buildings were damaged or destroyed. Surge heights of 10-15 feet occurred along
the Gulf coast during Ivan's first U.S. landfall. Peak rainfall amounts in the Caribbean and United
States were generally 10-15 inches. The death toll from Ivan stands at 92 - 39 in Grenada, 25 in
the United States, 17 in Jamaica, 4 in Dominican Republic, 3 in Venezuela, 2 in the Cayman
Islands, and 1 each in Tobago and Barbados. U.S. damage is estimated to be near $14.2 billion,
the third largest total on record.

Hurricane Jeanne 2004

Jeanne formed from a tropical wave, becoming a tropical
depression on September 13 near the Leeward Islands, and
strengthening to a tropical storm the next day. Moving west-
northwestward, Jeanne struck Puerto Rico on the 15th with 70
m.p.h. winds and then strengthened to a hurricane just before
making landfall in the Dominican Republic. Jeanne spent nearly
36 hours over the rough terrain of Hispaniola, generating
torrential rainfall before emerging into the Atlantic north of the
island. Steering currents in the western Atlantic were weak, and
Jeanne moved slowly through and north of the southeastern Bahamas over the next five days
while it gradually regained the strength it had lost over Hispaniola. By the 23rd , high pressure
had built in over the northeastern United States and western Atlantic, causing Jeanne to turn
westward. Jeanne strengthened and became a major hurricane on the 25th while the center
moved over Abaco and then Grand Bahama Island. Early on the 26th , the center of Jeanne's 60-
mile-wide eye crossed the Florida coast near Stuart, at virtually the identical spot that Frances
had come ashore three weeks earlier. Maximum winds at the time of landfall are estimated to
be near 120 m.p.h.

Jeanne weakened as it moved across central Florida, becoming a tropical storm during the
afternoon of the 26th near Tampa, and then weakening to a depression a day later over central
Georgia. The depression was still accompanied by heavy rain when it moved over the Carolinas,
Virginia, and the Delmarva Peninsula on the 28th and 29th before becoming extratropical.

Jeanne produced extreme rain accumulations in Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, with nearly 24
inches reported in Vieques. Rains from the cyclone resulted in historic floods in Puerto Rico, and
deadly flash-floods and mudslides in Haiti, where over 3000 people lost their lives and roughly
200,000 were left homeless. Three deaths occurred in Florida, and one each in Puerto Rico,
South Carolina, and Virginia. In the United States, damage is estimated to be near $6.9 billion.

Hurricane Dennis 2005

Dennis formed from a tropical wave that moved westward
across the coast of Africa on June 29. A tropical depression
developed from the wave on July 4 near the southern
Windward Islands. The cyclone moved west-northwestward
across the eastern and central Caribbean sea, became a tropical
storm on July 5, and strengthened into a hurricane early on July
6 about 245 miles east-southeast of Jamaica. Dennis intensified
over the next two days, becoming a major hurricane on July 7
and a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 mph the next day
just south of central Cuba. Dennis passed over Cabo Cruz, Cuba early on July 8 with winds of
135 mph, and then made landfall along the south-central coast of Cuba that afternoon near
Cienfuegos with winds of 145 mph. After landfall, Dennis passed near Havana and weakened to
a Category 1 hurricane before emerging over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico early on July 9.
Although Dennis re-intensified into a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 145 mph early on July
10 over the eastern Gulf of Mexico, it weakened to Category 3 strength before making landfall
over the western Florida Panhandle near Navarre Beach late that day. Dennis degenerated to a
low pressure area over the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys, and it was eventually absorbed by an
extratropical low over southeastern Canada on July 18.
Dennis brought hurricane conditions to many portions of Cuba. Cabo Cruz reported sustained
winds of 133 mph with a gust to 148 mph at 0200 UTC July 8, with a minimum pressure of 956
mb at 0240 UTC just before the eye passed over the station. The anemometer was destroyed,
and it is possible more extreme winds occurred. Dennis also caused hurricane conditions in the
western Florida Panhandle. An instrumented tower run by the Florida Coastal Monitoring
Program (FCMP) at Navarre measured 1-min average winds (5-m elevation) of 99 mph and a
gust to 121 mph at 1921 UTC July 10.

Storm-total rainfalls in excess of 23 inches occurred on both Cuba and Jamaica. Heavy rainfall
also occurred over much of Florida and extended well inland over portions of the southeastern
United States with the maximum amount of 12.80 inches near Camden, Alabama. Ten
tornadoes were reported in association with Dennis in the United States.

Dennis caused 42 deaths - 22 in Haiti, 16 in Cuba, 3 in the United States, and 1 in Jamaica. The
hurricane caused considerable damage across central and eastern Cuba as well as the western
Florida Panhandle, including widespread utility and communications outages. Considerable
storm surge-related damage also occurred near St. Marks, Florida, well to the east of the
landfall location. The damage associated with Dennis in the United States is estimated at $2.23
billion. Damage in Jamaica is estimated at 1.9 billion Jamaican dollars* (approximately $31.7
million U. S.).

Hurricane Katrina 2005

Katrina was one of the most devastating hurricanes in the
history of the United States. It is the deadliest hurricane to
strike the United States since the Palm Beach-Lake Okeechobee
hurricane of September 1928. It produced catastrophic damage
- estimated at $75 billion in the New Orleans area and along the
Mississippi coast - and is the costliest U. S. hurricane on record.

This horrific tropical cyclone formed from the combination of a

tropical wave, an upper-level trough, and the mid-level
remnants of Tropical Depression Ten. A tropical depression
formed on August 23 about 200 miles southeast of Nassau in the Bahamas. Moving
northwestward, it became Tropical Storm Katrina during the following day about 75 miles east-
southeast of Nassau. The storm moved through the northwestern Bahamas on August 24-25,
and then turned westward toward southern Florida. Katrina became a hurricane just before
making landfall near the Miami-Dade/Broward county line during the evening of August 25. The
hurricane moved southwestward across southern Florida into the eastern Gulf of Mexico on
August 26. Katrina then strengthened significantly, reaching Category 5 intensity on August 28.
Later that day, maximum sustained winds reached 175 mph with an aircraft-measured central
pressure of 902 mb while centered about 195 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi
River. Katrina turned to the northwest and then north, with the center making landfall near
Buras, Louisiana at 1110 UTC August 29 with maximum winds estimated at 125 mph (Category
3). Continuing northward, the hurricane made a second landfall near the Louisiana/Mississippi
border at 1445 UTC with maximum winds estimated at 120 mph (Category 3). Weakening
occurred as Katrina moved north-northeastward over land, but it was still a hurricane near
Laurel, Mississippi. The cyclone weakened to a tropical depression over the Tennessee Valley on
30 August. Katrina became an extratropical low on August 31 and was absorbed by a frontal
zone later that day over the eastern Great Lakes.

Katrina brought hurricane conditions to southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, and

southwestern Alabama. The Coastal Marine Automated Network (C-MAN) station at Grand Isle,
Louisiana reported 10-minute average winds of 87 mph at 0820 UTC August 29 with a gust to
114 mph. Higher winds likely occurred there and elsewhere, as many stations were destroyed,
lost power, or lost communications during the storm. Storm surge flooding of 25 to 28 feet
above normal tide level occurred along portions of the Mississippi coast, with storm surge
flooding of 10 to 20 feet above normal tide levels along the southeastern Louisiana coast.
Hurricane conditions also occurred over southern Florida and the Dry Tortugas. The National
Hurricane Center reported sustained winds of 69 mph at 0115 UTC August 26 with a gust to 87
mph. Additionally, tropical storm conditions occurred along the northern Gulf coast as far east
as the coast of the western Florida Panhandle, as well as in the Florida Keys. Katrina caused 10
to 14 inches of rain over southern Florida, and 8 to 12 inches of rain along its track inland from
the northern Gulf coast. Thirty-three tornadoes were reported from the storm.

Katrina is responsible for approximately 1200 reported deaths, including about 1000 in
Louisiana and 200 in Mississippi. Seven additional deaths occurred in southern Florida. Katrina
caused catastrophic damage in southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi. Storm surge
along the Mississippi coast caused total destruction of many structures, with the surge damage
extending several miles inland. Similar damage occurred in portions of southeastern Louisiana
southeast of New Orleans. The surge overtopped and breached levees in the New Orleans
metropolitan area, resulting in the inundation of much of the city and its eastern suburbs. Wind
damage from Katrina extended well inland into northern Mississippi and Alabama. The
hurricane also caused wind and water damage in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

Hurricane Rita 2005

Rita, the third Category 5 hurricane of the season, was a destructive and deadly hurricane that
 devastated portions of southeastern Texas and southwestern
Louisiana and significantly impacted the Florida Keys.

A tropical wave and the remnants of an old front combined to

produce and area of disturbed weather on 16 September. This
system became a depression just east of the Turks and Caicos
Islands late on 17 September, which moved westward and
became a tropical storm the following afternoon. Maximum
winds increased to 70 mph as Rita moved through the central
Bahamas on September 19. While the storm did not strengthen
during the following night, rapid intensification began on September 20 as it moved through the
Straits of Florida. Rita became a hurricane that day and reached Category 2 intensity as the
center passed about 50 miles south of Key West, Florida.

After entering the Gulf of Mexico, Rita intensified from Category 2 to Category 5 in about 24
hours. The maximum sustained winds reached 165 mph late on September 21, and the
hurricane reached a peak intensity of 180 mph early on September 22. Weakening began later
that day and continued until landfall around 0740 UTC 24 September just east of the
Texas/Louisiana border between Sabine Pass and Johnson's Bayou. At that time, maximum
sustained winds were 115 mph (Category 3). Weakening continued after landfall, but Rita
remained a tropical storm until reaching northwestern Louisiana late on 24 September. The
cyclone then turned northeastward and merged with a frontal system two days later. Rita
brought hurricane conditions to southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas. A FCMP
instrumented tower at Port Arthur reported 1-min average winds of 94 mph at 0826 UTC
September 24 along with a gust of 116 mph. The C-MAN station at Sea Rim State Park, Texas
reported 2-minute average winds of 82 mph at 0700 UTC September 24, along with a peak gust
of 99 mph. The hurricane caused storm-surge flooding of 10 to 15 ft above normal tide levels
along the southwestern coast of Louisiana, caused a notable surge on the inland Lake
Livingston, Texas, and inundated portions of the New Orleans area previously flooded by
Katrina. Tropical storm conditions occurred in the Florida Keys, where the C-MAN station at
Sand Key reported 10-minute average winds of 72 mph at 2110 UTC September 20 with a gust
to 92 mph. The station failed shortly thereafter. Storm surge flooding of up to 5 feet above
normal tide levels occurred in the Keys.

Rita produced rainfalls of 5 to 9 inches over large portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and eastern
Texas, with isolated amounts of 10 to 15 inches. The cyclone spawned an estimated 90
tornadoes over the southern United States.

Devastating storm surge flooding and wind damage in occurred southwestern Louisiana and
extreme southeastern Texas, with some surge damage occurring in the Florida Keys. Rita was
responsible for seven deaths, and it caused damage estimated at $10 billion in the United
States.

Hurricane Wilma 2005

The massive and powerful Wilma formed from a broad area of
disturbed weather that stretched across much of the Caribbean
Sea during the second week of October. A surface low pressure
system gradually became defined near Jamaica on October 14,
leading to the formation of a tropical depression on October 15
about 220 miles east-southeast of Grand Cayman. The cyclone
moved erratically westward and southward for two days while
slowly strengthening into a tropical storm. Wilma became a
hurricane and began a west-northwestward motion on October
18. Later that day, Wilma began to explosively deepen. The aircraft-measured minimum central
pressure reached 882 mb near 0800 UTC October 19. This pressure was accompanied by a 2-4
mile wide eye. Wilma's maximum intensity is estimated to have been 185 mph a few hours after
the 882 mb pressure. On October 20, Wilma weakened slightly and turned northwestward
toward the northeastern Yucatan Peninsula. Late on October 21, the slow-moving hurricane
made landfall over Cozumel, followed by landfall early the next day over the northeastern
Yucatan Peninsula - both at Category 4 intensity. Wilma moved slowly and weakened over
northeastern Yucatan, emerging over the Gulf of Mexico early on October 23 as a Category 2
hurricane. Later that day it accelerated northeastward toward southern Florida. The hurricane
strengthened over the Gulf waters, and its center made landfall near Cape Romano around
1030 UTC October 24 as a Category 3 hurricane. The eye crossed the Florida Peninsula in less
than five hours, moving into the Atlantic just north of Palm Beach as a Category 2 hurricane.
Wilma briefly re-intensified just east of Florida, then weakened thereafter. The hurricane moved
rapidly northeastward over the western Atlantic and became extratropical about 230 miles
southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia late on October 25. The remnants of Wilma were absorbed by
another low late the next day.

Wilma brought hurricane conditions to the northeastern Yucatan Peninsula and the adjacent
islands, as well as to southern Florida. In Mexico, Cancun reported 10-minute average winds of
100 mph with a gust to 130 mph at 0000 UTC October 22, while Cozumel reported a pressure of
928.0 mb late on October 21. The Isla Mujeres reported 62.05 inches of rain during the
hurricane's passage. In Florida, a South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) station in
Lake Okeechobee reported 15-minute average winds of 92 mph with a gust to 112 mph at 1500
UTC October 24, while a nearby SFWMD station in Belle Glade reported a gust to 117 mph. Ten
tornadoes occurred in Florida due to Wilma.

Twenty-two deaths have been directly attributed to Wilma: 12 in Haiti, 1 in Jamaica, 4 in

Mexico, and 5 in Florida. The hurricane caused severe damage in northeastern Yucatan,
including Cancun and Cozumel, and widespread damage estimated at $16.8 billion in southern
Florida. Wilma also produced major floods in western Cuba.

The 882 mb pressure reported in Wilma is the lowest central pressure on record in an Atlantic
hurricane, breaking the old record of 888 mb set by Hurricane Gilbert in September 1988. The
central pressure fell 88 mb in 12 hours, which shatters the record of 48 mb in 12 hours held by
Hurricane Allen in August 1980.

Hurricane Ike 2008

Ike was a long-lived and major Cape Verde hurricane that

caused extensive damage and many deaths across portions of
the Caribbean and along the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. It
originated from a well-defined tropical wave that moved off the
west coast of Africa on August 28 and then became a tropical
depression on September 1 about 775 miles west of the Cape
Verde Islands. The depression quickly strengthened to a tropical
storm later that day. Ike became a hurricane on September 3,
and Ike reached an estimated peak intensity of 145 mph (Category 4) on September 4 when it
was located 550 miles northeast of the Leeward Islands. After weakening briefly, Ike regained
Category 4 status just before moving across the Turks and Caicos Islands on September 7. Ike
then passed over Great Inagua Island in the southeastern Bahamas at Category 3 strength.

Ike turned westward and made landfall along the northeast coast of Cuba in the province of
Holguin early on September 8 with maximum sustained winds estimated near 135 mph
(Category 4). Ike made a second landfall in Cuba over the extreme southeastern part of the
province of Pinar del Rio on September 9, with winds of 80 mph (Category 1). It moved into the
southeastern Gulf of Mexico later that day.

Ike developed a large wind field as it moved northwestward across the Gulf of Mexico over the
next 3 days, with tropical-storm-force winds extending up to 275 miles from the center and
hurricane-force winds extending up to 115 miles from the center. The hurricane gradually
intensified as it moved across the Gulf toward the Texas coast. Ike made landfall over the north
end of Galveston Island in the early morning hours of September 13 as a Category 2 hurricane
with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. The hurricane weakened as it moved inland across
eastern Texas and Arkansas and became extratropical over the middle Mississippi Valley on
September 14. It then moved rapidly through the Ohio valley and into Canada, producing wind
gusts to hurricane force along the way.

Grand Turk Island reported sustained winds of 116 mph as the center of Ike crossed the island.
Storm surges of 15-20 feet above normal tide levels occurred along the Bolivar Peninsula of
Texas and in much of the Galveston Bay area, with surges of up to 10 feet above normal
occurring as far east as south central Louisiana. Storm total rainfalls from Ike were as much as
19 inches in southeastern Texas and 14 inches in Cuba.

Ike left a long trail of death and destruction. It is estimated that flooding and mud slides killed
74 people in Haiti and 2 in the Dominican Republic, compounding the problems caused by Fay,
Gustav, and Hanna. The Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas sustained
widespread damage to property. Seven deaths were reported in Cuba. Ike's storm surge
devastated the Bolivar Peninsula of Texas, and surge, winds, and flooding from heavy rains
caused widespread damage in other portions of southeastern Texas, western Louisiana, and
Arkansas. Twenty people were killed in these areas, with 34 others still missing. Property
damage from Ike as a hurricane is estimated at $19.3 billion. Additionally, as an extratropical
system over the Ohio valley, Ike was directly or indirectly responsible for 28 deaths and more
than $1 billion in property damage.

To give you an idea of the strength and devastation associated with these storms, below is a
listing of some of the most memorable hurricanes since pre-colonial times. While the number of
casualties from these storms have gone down over the years, the cost from the damage caused
by these storms have risen tremendously. That has resulted from more building along the
coastline, and more expensive homes and businesses.

Hurricane of July, 1502--Was a storm that the great explorer and discoverer of
American, Christopher Columbus, predicted would strike the island of Hispanola. He
used his prediction to warn the Governor of Hispanola, Nicholas de Ovando, who had 30
ships in his fleet set sail back to Spain. However, the governor ignored him, and refused
Columbus' request to stay in port at Santo Domingo. Within two days the storm struck in
the Mona Passage between Hispanola and Puerto Rico, and sank 21 of the 30 ships, and
killed approximately 500 sailors.

Tempest of 1609--At the time that the first ever colony in the United States was being
developed, a strong hurricane menaced the Western Atlantic in the weeks following the
departure of a fleet with 500 colonists left Great Britain for the New World. The ships
 then met with the maelstrom head on, and scattering all the vessels. Most were able to
survive the onslaught of Mother Nature except for the flagship of the fleet, the Sea
Venture, which was deposited in the infamous "Isle of Devils." Nevertheless, those who
were on the ship still managed to reach shore, and received a much better fate than
those, who had already situated themselves in the colony. The story of the Sea Venture
was the basis of William Shakespeare's play, The Tempest.

Colonial Hurricane of 1635--Was a powerful New England hurricane that struck the
Massachussetts Bay Colony in 1635 some fifteen years after the Mayflower struck land
at Plymouth Rock. This storm had reminded many of the pilgrims and settlers of past
hurricanes that struck in the West Indies or Caribbean. Many of the pilgrims believed
that this storm was apocalyptic.

1667--The Year Of The Hurricane--At a time when the Mid-Atlantic states of North
Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland agreed to temporarily halt production of tobacco, a
strong hurricane ripped through the Mid-Atlantic region on August 27th. While there
was no recorded statistics such as where the storm made landfall, its track, and its
forward speed and intensity. It destroyed 80 percent of the tobacco and corn while
destroying some 15,000 homes in Virginia and Maryland.

Accomack Storm of October 1693--This storm was captured by Mr. Scarburgh at his
residence in Virginia's Eastern Shore. Described by many weather record keepers as a
very powerful storm, the Accomack Storm "cut inlets as far north as Fire Island, near
New York City."

The Great Gust of 1724--According to Rick Schwartz's book, "Hurricanes and the Mid-
Atlantic States," two hurricanes brought significant wind and rain to the Mid-Atlantic
region in 1724. The first storm moved through the area around August 12th, and caused
torrential rains and devastating winds. Less than a week later, another violent storm
system came through on August 17th, 18th, and 19th with violent winds and rain. These
two systems are among the most significant tropical storms to affect the Mid-Atlantic
during the colonial period of the late 1600s and 1700s.

Hurricane of October, 1743--A storm that affected what would become the
Northeastern United States and New England, brought gusty winds and rainy conditions
as far as Philadelphia, and produced flooding in Boston. Central barometric pressure of
the storm was measured to be 29.35 inches of Hg in Boston. This storm, which wasn't
particularly powerful, was memorable because it garnered the interest of future patriot
and one of the founders of the United States, Benjamin Franklin, who believed the storm
 was coming in from Boston. However, it was going to Boston. Nevertheless, it began the
long educational journey, which would be our understanding of hurricanes.

Hurricane of October, 1749--The storm was perhaps one of the strongest storm ever in
the Mid-Atlantic. According to Rick Schwartz, the hurricane produced a huge tidal surge
of 15 feet. Based upon that observation, many experts believe that this system was a
Category Four on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. It was responsible for creating Willoughby
Spit, a small area of land near Norfolk that was inside the Chesapeake Bay.

The Great Chesapeake Bay Hurricane of 1769--This hurricane plagued the Mid-Atlantic
coast from North Carolina up into the Chesapeake over the two days of September 7-8,
1769, and was probably one of the strongest storms in the Mid-Atlantic during the 18th
Century. It made landfall near New Bern, North Carolina, and laid that town in ruin as
tides rose 12 feet above normal. Most notably, it caused widespread damage to the
Stratford Hall plantation, which belonged to the family of famous confederate General
Robert E. Lee.

The Independence Hurricane of 1775--With the winds of revolution blowing about in

the fledgling 13 colonies, Mother Nature had a wind that temporarily put a halt to those
rebellious thoughts. A hurricane roared up the East Coast, and triggered one of the early
Revolutionary War skirmishes in the biggest colony of Virginia. It came close to
impacting Georgia and South Carolina on September 2nd before moving ashore over
North Carolina. The storm then picked up steam through Virginia, Maryland, and
Pennsylvania. One of the more notable casualties of the storm was the roof of the
Maryland State House, which was replaced by a wind resistant dome.

Great Hurricane of 1780--This storm was one of several that year, which was one of the
worst hurricane seasons in the era prior to record taking. Winds were estimated to be
Category Four strength at 135 mph. This storm, which affected the Southern Windward
Islands including Barbados, St. Vincent, Grenada, Martinique, St. Eustatius, and near
Puerto Rico and Grand Turk Island, is believed to have killed approximately 22,000
people. Of that total, between 4,000 and 5,000 people were killed on St. Eustatius.
Martinique had an estimated 9,000 people killed including 1,000 in St. Pierre, which had
all of its homes destroyed.

The Great Coastal Hurricane of 1785--Hurricanes that occur within weeks of each other
usually take parallel tracks. Take a look at hurricanes Katrina and Rita from 2005 for
instance. The Atlantic Hurricane season of 1785 was a very busy one. One hurricane in
early September of that year wrecked the ship called the Faithful Steward. Weeks later,
another storm developed, and brushed the Delmarva Peninsula. The storm's legacy was
 the creation of the "long-sought" lighthouse at Cape Henry, which was opened seven
years later in 1792. Lighthouses were essential in preventing shipwrecks like the Faithful
Steward, and another immigrant ship guided by shipmaster, Captain Smith.

George Washington's Hurricane of 1788--This hurricane, which began its drive toward
landfall after nearing Bermuda on July 19th, proceeded on a west-northwest course into
the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and then into Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay region
absorbed the worst that the storm had to offer. Most notably though, this storm is
remembered for the way it was described by the father of the United States, and first
president, George Washington. By the time the storm reached Washington's home in
Mount Vernon, it was likely to have been a moderate tropical storm with winds about 50
mph.

Hurricanes of 1795--Two hurricanes assaulted Virginia in August 1795, and destroyed

the crops of another hero of the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson. The two
storms, which were ten days apart, caused the Appomattox River to crest more than 12
feet above flood stage at the city of Petersburg, which was the highest level reached in
70 years. Jefferson, who kept a perfect record of regular weather observations for 40
years between 1776 and 1816, recorded the devastation that the two storms left behind,
especially the heavy losses that he suffered at his plantation, the famous Monticello.

Great Coastal Hurricane of 1806--The first major hurricane of the 19th Century made
landfall south of the city of Wilmington on the southern shores of North Carolina on
August 21st, and then proceeded on a gradual northeasterly drift for about 250 miles
over the subsequent 36 hours. Constant gale force winds produced tremendous beach
erosion, and "firmly established" the sandbar of Willoughby Spit at the mouth of the
Chesapeake Bay near Norfolk. It was also responsible for the loss of the ship, Rose-in-
Bloom, which founded near Barnegat, New Jersey.

Great September Gale of 1815--Was the last hurricane to strike New England before the
Long Island Express of 1938. The storm struck on September 23, 1815, and brought an
11 foot storm surge to Providence, which was the highest storm surge in the Rhode
Island captial prior to the Great Hurricane of 1938, which had a 17.6 foot storm surge.
This storm was the first hurricane to strike New England in exactly 180 years.

Cape May Hurricane of 1821--The last major hurricane to make a direct landfall in the
Garden State of New Jersey. This storm, which was a Category Four Hurricane, struck
Cape May, New Jersey on September 3, 1821, and had hurricane force winds go as far
west as Philadelphia while folks in New Jersey experienced wind gusts of up to 200 mph.
The storm cut a path of destruction that is similar to that of the Garden State Parkway.
 More detailed information on this hurricane is at Greg Hoffman's Real Lousy Weather
Page.

The Hurricane of 1846--Referred to as "The Great", used its northeast quadrant that
caused havoc on the Delaware all the way up to Camden, New Jersey. This storm
revealed the fact that Delaware Bay is open to southeast winds in the right quadrant,
and water in the Bay would go upriver into cities such as Wilmington, Philadelphia, and
Camden.

The Last Island Hurricane of 1856--A monster hurricane struck the resort Louisiana
island. The storm represented the beginning of the decline of the island for high society
people in Louisiana. It only killed 284 people, but among those dead were prominent
Louisiana officials of the time including the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the State
house of representatives, and many others prominent in the political and social history
of the State.

Hurricane of September, 1874--Struck the Carolinas around the end of September, 1874.
This storm is remembered for being the first such hurricane to be shown on a weather
map by the Weather Bureau. At the time it was shown, the hurricane was located off the
Southeast Coast between Jacksonville, Florida and Savannah, Georgia.

Hurricane of September, 1875--Was an intense hurricane that struck the Southern Coast
of Cuba as predicted by Father Benito Vines, who began to develop a tremendous
reputation for accurately predicting when and where a hurricane would strike. His
studies of tropical storms and hurricanes during the latter portion of the 19th Century
made the Cuban forecasters some of the best hurricane forecasters in the world at the
time.

The Centennial Gale--Striking during the year of the 100th anniversary of the
Declaration of Independence, the Centennial Gale was a hurricane that stormed ashore
in Swan Quarter on September 16th and 17th after killing hundreds of people in Puerto
Rico. Also known to many as the San Felipe Hurricane.

The Great Tempest of 1879--One of the strongest east coast hurricanes of the 19th
century, the storm slammed ahsore in Eastern North Carolina on August 18th. It
produced wind gusts of 138 miles per hour at Cape Lookout with gusts up to 168 miles
per hour. Wind instruments from Cape Lookout to Cape Hatteras to Cape Henry in
Virginia are devastated.

Indianola Hurricane of 1886--Destroyed what had been the leading port city in Texas at
the time on August 19-20, 1886. Indianola, which was located in Matagorda Bay, was hit
 by this storm, and another one a bit more than a month later. As a result, business that
previously came into that port, moved up the coast to Galveston, which became the
prominent port city in the Lone Star State until it was devastated by the Great Hurricane
of 1900.

The Sabine Pass Storm of 1886--A storm devastated the Johnson's Bayou settlement,
and the Sabine Pass region near the Texas and Louisiana border killing about 150 people
in Johnson's Bayou and wiping Sabine Pass off the map.

Atlantic Hurricane of 1893--Was a strong Category One Hurricane that struck New York
City with 90 mph winds on August 24th of that year. Barometric pressure was only 29.23
inches of Hg, but it leved some one hundred trees in Central Park. The beach and piers
on Coney Island was devastated. However, it wasn't as bad as Hog Island, a sand spit off
Rockaway Beach that was wiped off the map.

Sea Islands Hurricane of 1893--A major hurricane of Category Three strength that made
landfall in Savannah, Georgia on August 27th, but its northeast quadrant hammered Sea
Islands in Beaufort County, South Carolina. As a result, approximately 2,000 to 2,500
people were killed and upwards of 30,000 people were left homeless.

Cheniere Caminada Hurricane of October 1893 --A devastating hurricane swept in from
the Gulf and across this barrier island in Louisiana on October 2nd, and killed
approximately 1,150 people in the fishing village of Caminadville. A total of nearly 1,700
people were lost in the storm altogether.

Galveston Hurricane of 1900--The deadliest natural disaster in United States History, this
Category Four Hurricane moved through Cuba into the Gulf of Mexico before slamming
ashore in Galveston, Texas on September 8, 1900 killing 6,000 people.

The "Hurricane" of 1903--The storm was indicated to be a hurricane by many in the

media at the time, but it was in fact, a tropical storm with 70 mph winds along the coast.
It was the first such tropical storm or hurricane to impact the Jersey shore in one
hundred years. It was also called the "Vagabond Hurricane" since it caused such a stir in
media outlets such as Philadelphia and New York, which had people covering the storm
for the various newspapers in those cities.

Miami Hurricane of 1926--This storm hit at the worst possible time for the fledgling city.
Incoporated in 1896 following the extension of the Florida East Coast Railway by Henry
Flagler, the city of Miami was at the end of its first boom period early in 1926. The storm
also served as a lesson for those wishing to go outside during the eye's passage. Forming
a few hundred miles to the East of the Lesser Antilles on September 12th, the storm
 passed to the north of Puerto Rico on September 15th. Accompanied by a late issued
hurricane warning, the storm arrived in Miami on the morning of September 18th.
Winds peaked at 128 mph, and the pressure in Miami fell to 27.61 inches of Hg, or 935
millibars. The storm surge ranged from eight to fifteen feet, and caused $150 million
dollars in damage then, or $1.7 billion today. If a similar storm hit the Miami area today,
it would cause an astronomical $87 billion in damage.

Lake Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928--Carved a path of destruction throughout the

Atlantic, and over the north shore of Lake Okeechobee during the period from
September 6th to September 20th, 1928. This particular hurricane, which had a central
pressure of 27.43 inches, was fifth all time to strike the United States in terms of
intensity. It was responsible for an estimated 2,500 deaths, and some $25 million dollars
in damage (equivalent to $300 million 1990 U.S. dollars). Now ranks behind Galveston as
the second deadliest natural disaster in United States History.

Chesapeake Bay Hurricane of 1933--A powerful Cape Verde Storm that reached
Category Four strength at one point before weakening to Category Two strength. The
storm ended up striking on August 23, 1933 causing 79 million dollars in damage
according to 1969 estimates, and left some 18 people dead. It also knocked out service
to about 79,000 telephones as well as uprooted some 600 trees in Virginia Beach. The
storm also set a record for storm surge with one that was 9.8 feet above normal in spots.

Major Hurricane of September, 1933--1933 was a very active year for tropical storms
and hurricanes with 21 named storms, and 10 of them becoming hurricanes. In addition
to the Great Chesapeake Hurricane of 1933, the Mid-Atlantic was hit by another
hurricane almost exactly a month to the day later when a Category Three storm
emerged from a disturbance in the Bahamas, and came up the coast to make landfall at
Cape Lookout, North Carolina. The storm ended up causing about a fraction of the
damage caused by the Chesapeake Bay storm. Only about 2,000 telephones were
knocked out by the storm, and only two people died in Virginia.

Labor Day Hurricane of 1935--The most powerful hurricane to make landfall in the
United States. A very small storm, this Category Five Hurricane tore through the Florida
Keys with 180 mph winds, and a low pressure of 26.35 inches of Hg.

Long Island Express of 1938--A classic east coast hurricane, this Category Three storm
moved rapidly from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina into New England in a matter of just
six hours killing 600 people.
 Great Hurricane of September, 1944--Is perhaps a forgotten storm in light of the Labor
Day Hurricane of 1935, and the Long Island Express of 1938. However, this was a
memorable storm in its own right. Cape Henry in Virginia was hit with sustained winds of
134 mph, and gusts up to 150 mph. Meanwhile, in Norfolk, winds reached close to
hurricane force while gusts went up to 90 mph. The powerful storm caused tremendous
damage along the coast from North Carolina to New England with some 41,000 buildings
damaged, and a death toll of 390 people. The storm cost some $100 million dollars in
damage including $25 million in New Jersey alone, where some 300 homes were
destroyed on Long Beach Island. More detailed information on this hurricane is at Greg
Hoffman's Real Lousy Weather Page.

Hurricane Easy--Developing in September, 1950, Easy was perhaps one of the worst
storms to hit Cedar Key since the late 1800s. This storm, which did a loop around the
West Coast of Florida twice, had maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, a minimum
pressure of 28.30 inches of Hg, and brought an amazing 38.7 inches of rain over two
days to Yankeetown, Florida.

Hurricane King--Another powerful storm in 1950, this particular hurricane affected the
Miami area in October of that year. It was a compact, but very powerful hurricane much
likeHurricane Andrew. It only carved a path of destruction some 7 to 10 miles wide, but
had wind gusts as high as 150 mph, minimum pressure of 28.20 inches of Hg., and a
storm surge of 19.3 feet.

Hurricane Barbara--Opened up a decade of powerful storms to ravage the Carolinas in

August, 1953. It struck the North Carolina coast between Morehead City and Ocracoke
Island on August 13th, 1953 as a Category One Hurricane with gusts up to 90 mph, and
left one dead and damages over $1 million in 1953 U.S. dollars.

Hurricane Carol--Opened up a very busy hurricane season for North Carolina in 1954
with a near miss of Cape Hatteras. Winds at Hatteras were between 90 and 100 mph,
but minor damage estimated at $250,000 1953 U.S. dollars was left in the storm's wake.

Hurricane Edna--Edna followed on the heels of Carol, and had a very similar track to
Carol's as it passed the Carolinas offshore on September 10, 1954. While the storm left
minor damage and beach erosion for North Carolina, Edna ended up doing much more
damage in New England after making landfall in Long Island. Damage estimates
exceeded $40 million 1953 U.S. dollars, and 21 people were killed.

Hurricane Hazel--A Category Four Hurricane that came ashore in North Carolina in
October, 1954, and then brought hurricane force winds as far inland as Canada. Passing
 95 miles to the East of Charleston, South Carolina, Hazel made landfall very near the
North Carolina and South Carolina border, and brought a record 18 foot storm surge at
Calabash, North Carolina. Wind gusts of 150 mph were felt in Holden Beach, Calabash,
and Little River Inlet 100 mph gusts were felt farther inland at Virginia, Maryland,
Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York. Hazel carved a path of destruction
that left over 600 dead, and damages exceeded $350 million 1953 U.S. dollars.

Hurricane Connie--Was the first of three hurricanes to make landfall in the Carolinas in
1955. Some ten months after Hazel devastated the Tar Heel state, Connie made landfall
over Cape Lookout, North Carolina on August 12, 1955. The storm produced heavy rains,
tornadoes, and wind gusts up to 100 mph. The storm headed northward, and brought
heavy rains in excess of 9 inches in Eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey
while dumping over 12 inches in portions of New York City.

Hurricane Diane--First billion dollar hurricane. Made landfall along the Outer Banks of
North Carolina, and caused havoc from the Carolinas to New England in August 1955.
Just five days after Connie, Diane came ashore on August 17th over Carolina Beach. At its
peak, Diane produced winds of 125 mph, but at landfall winds were down 50 mph in
Cape Hatteras while Wilmington had a gust of minimal hurricane force. Its flooding rains
proved more devastating as they killed two hundred while establishing a new
benchmark for damage. The havoc wreaked by Diane brought out Presidential
Commission on Storm Modification that eventually led to Project Stormfury.

Hurricane Ione--Struck a month after Connie and Diane in September, 1955. The storm
struck just west of Atlantic Beach along the North Carolina coast. This was another storm
that made landfall well after it had peaked in intensity with 125 mph winds and a
minimum central pressure of 27.70 inches. Nevertheless, it brought 16 inches of rainfall
to parts of the Tar Heel state, and left six dead as well as $90 million in damages before
curving out to sea.

Hurricane Helene--Perhaps one of the most powerful hurricanes during the 1950s not to
make landfall in the Carolinas although it came very close. Helene came within 20 miles
of the coast at Cape Fear on September 27, 1958. Winds still reached 135 mph at
Wilmington while Southport, North Carolina had winds sustained at 125 mph with gusts
between 150 and 160 mph, and a minimum central pressure of 27.75 inches.

Hurricane Donna--Had a very erratic path in the summer of 1960 that started in the
Caribbean, then went to the Florida Keys, then into the Gulf of Mexico, where it would
make a turn to the north and make a second landfall over Florida at Fort Myers. It
continued northeastward across the Florida Peninsula, and moved back out into the
 Atlantic near Daytona Beach. Not done yet, Donna headed up the East Coast, and made
another landfall at Topsail Island, North Carolina. It then finished its trip by heading into
New England, and a final landfall across Long Island. At its peak, Donna had wind gusts
ranging between 175 and 200 mph, a minimum central pressure of 27.46 inches, and a
13 foot storm surge. Its total damage cost was over one billion 1960 United States
dollars while Donna left 50 people dead.

Hurricane Carla--Struck between the Port O'Connor and Port Lavaca area of Texas back
in September, 1961. It was the most powerful storm to hit the Texas Coast in about 40
years. It winds were in excess of 150 mph, and gusts went up to 170 mph. Tides near
Port Lavaca were 18.5 feet above normal, and the barometric pressure was 27.62 inches
of Hg. Estimated damage from the storm was $408 million dollars while the death toll hit
43. Today, the cost would have been far greater.

Hurricane Hattie--Struck the then coastal capital of Belize, Belize City on Halloween in
1961. Hattie was the second or two Category Five Hurricanes from that season. Leaving
some 275 people dead and some $60 million dollars in damage, Hattie devastated the
Belize capital forcing government officials to move government offices and buildings
inland to the city of Belmopan.

Hurricane Cleo--The first hurricane to strike the Miami area since Hurricane King in
1950, this 1964 storm produced wind gusts of 138 mph, and knee-deep water that
produced some $125 million dollars in damage ($600 million 1990 U.S. dollars).

Hurricane Dora--Within a few weeks after Cleo in September, 1964, this hurricane hit
the Northeastern coast of Florida at a right angle. It was the first storm ever to do this
since the Great Hurricane of 1880. Dora had winds of 125 mph at St. Augustine, and
produced a 12 foot storm surge.

Hurricane Betsy--A Category Three Hurricane that struck South Florida and Louisiana in
September, 1965. It would be the last major hurricane to affect South Florida until
Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Hurricane Inez--Known as "The Crazy One," Inez carved an erratic path of death and
destruction from the Caribbean to Florida, and to Mexico in October, 1966. It left some
1,500 people dead, and produced millions of dollars in damage with top winds of
approximately 190 mph. Minimum central pressure with Inez was recorded at 27.38
inches of Hg, which according to theSaffir-Simpson scale that came out into 1970, was
equivalent to a Category Four Hurricane.
 Hurricane Audrey--A rare early season major hurricane, this storm struck in Texas and
Louisiana in June, 1957. It was the most powerful hurricane ever in the month of June,
and it rapidly intensified over the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall leaving many
caught off guard.

Hurricane Beulah--Hurricane Beulah was a Category Four Hurricane on the Saffir-

Simpson scale that Texas in 1967, and produced some 150 tornadoes after making
landfall. The most ever produced on record by a tropical system. Hurricane Frances in
2004 spawned half that number, which is still quite a bit in its own right.

Hurricane Camille--Was the last Category Five Hurricane to make landfall over the
United States before Hurricane Andrew did in August, 1992. Hurricane Camille landfall
over Gulfport, Mississippi on August 18, 1969 with winds of 180 mph, and a record
storm surge of 24.3 feet. It left about 250 people dead from Louisiana to Virginia, and
was responsible for approximately $1.421 billion dollars in damage.

Hurricane Celia--A powerful Category Three Hurricane that came ashore in the Corpus
Christi area during the 1970 season. Sustained winds were 130 mph, which made it a
strong Category Three Hurricane. Winds gusted as high as 161 mph, and ended up being
the costliest storm at the time. Some other areas received wind gusts as high as 180
mph. Celia became the third major hurricane to strike the Texas Gulf Coast behind
Hurricane Carla (1961) and Hurricane Beulah (1967). Today, it still ranks quite high as the
National Hurricane Center places it 24th on the all time list with $453 billion dollars in
damage. The silver lining in all of this was the fact that only 11 people died from the
storm even though 466 people were injured, 9,000 homes were destroyed, 14,000
homes were significantly damaged, and another 41,000 suffered minor damage.

Hurricane Agnes--A minimal Category One Hurricane upon landfall in Apalachicola,

Florida in June, 1972, it proceeded to cause devastating floods in Northeastern
Pennsylvania as it combined with another low pressure system to dump heavy rains over
the area. Damage from this storm was estimated to be about $2.1 billion dollars.

Hurricane Eloise--A powerful hurricane that formed in September, 1975, Eloise was a
Category Three Hurricane with sustained winds of 125 mph, and gusts of up to 156 mph.
It produced a 12 to 16 foot storm surge along the Florida Coast from Ft. Walton Beach to
Panama City, Florida. With a minimum central pressure of 28.20 inches, Eloise was the
first major hurricane to make a direct hit on this area in the 20th century, and caused
some $1 billion dollars in damage as well as 21 deaths.
 Hurricane Belle--A Category Three Hurricane at one point with 120 mph winds, Belle
was the second named storm of the 1976 Atlantic Hurricane Season. The storm, which
earned the nickname, "Bicentennial Belle," would eventually weaken though to just a
Category One Hurricane by the time it came ashore on Long Island. Shortly afterward, it
became extratropical.

Hurricane David--A powerful Category Five Hurricane that ripped through the Caribbean
with winds of over 155 mph, it struck the coast of Georgia as a Category One Hurricane
on September 4, 1979. It then came up the coast, and hit the Northeast as a Tropical
Storm with winds that knocked down tree branches, and even spawned some tornadoes
on Long Island. Damage estimated from this storm was $320 million dollars.

Hurricane Frederick--A major hurricane that slammed into Mobile Bay in Alabama with
125 mph after struggling to maintain itself over the rugged terrain of Hispanola and
Cuba. The storm caused some $2.3 billion dollars in damage to portions of the Gulf
Coast.

Hurricane Allen--The first named storm of the 1980 Atlantic Hurricane Season, Allen
became a Category Five hurricane on three separate occasions, and is ranked as one of
the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic. Allen's eye didn't touch land from the
time it crossed the Windward Islands including St. Lucia until it came ashore near Port
Mansfield, Texas.

Hurricane Alicia--A strong Category Three Hurricane with winds of 125 mph, Alicia was
the last hurricane to make landfall in the Galveston, Texas area back in August, 1983.
Estimated damage from this storm was $2 billion dollars.

Hurricane Elena--A very fickle storm, Elena stayed away from land in the Gulf of Mexico
for about a week as upper level winds broke down above the storm. As a result, it grew
from a Category One to a Category Three Hurricane with 125 mph as it came ashore in
Biloxi, Mississippi in September, 1985. Estimated damage as a result of this storm was
$1.25 billion dollars.

Hurricane Gloria--Termed the Storm Of The Century at one point in its life. This Category
Three Hurricane made landfall over the outer banks of North Carolina, and then moved
up the East Coast of the United States on September 27, 1985. Estimated damage from
this storm was $900 million dollars.

Hurricane Kate--An unusually strong late season hurricane, Kate was a Category Two
Hurricane that struck the Port St. Joe area of the Florida Panhandle in November, 1985.
 It was the latest hurricane ever recorded in a season to strike that far north in Florida. It
ended up causing some $300 million dollars in damage.

Hurricane Gilbert--The most powerful storm ever recorded in the Atlantic with winds of
200 mph, and a central pressure of 26.28 inches of Hg, Gilbert came ashore in the
Yucatan, and then proceeded into the Gulf of Mexico before hitting the Northern
Mexican town of Matamoros with only 120 mph winds.

Hurricane Hugo--This Category Four Hurricane at landfall, carved a path from the
Leeward Islands in the Caribbean to Charleston, South Carolina in September, 1989. At
one point in its lifetime, Hugo reached Category Five intensity with 160 mph winds, and
a minimum central pressure of 27.11 inches of Hg. Rapidly intensifying over the Gulf
Stream, it came ashore in South Carolina with 135 mph winds. This storm ranks currently
second all time in terms of estimated damage at $7 billion dollars.

Hurricane Bob--This Category Two Hurricane was one of the more memorable storms of
1991 besides the "perfect" Halloween Gale later that year. It moved up the East Coast
before making landfall in New England. Believe it or not, as of 2000, this storm was
ranked 10th all time in terms of estimated damage with $1.5 billion dollars.

Hurricane Grace--Contrary to what was said in the movie, The Perfect Storm, Grace was
only a Category Two Hurricane, but it would combine with a mid-latitude cyclone to
form what would be known as the "Perfect Storm" in Meteorological terms during the
final days of October, 1991.

Hurricane Andrew--This is probably the most recent memorable hurricanes in modern

history. After struggling to develop in the Atlantic, this Category Five Hurricane rapidly
developed over the Gulf Stream, and devastated South Florida with 165 mph winds on
August 24, 1992. It was the costliest natural disaster on record with some $30 billion
dollars in damage.

Tropical Storm Alberto--Was a strong tropical storm at landfall in early July, 1994, but it
would end up being one of the most memorable tropical storms as it proceeded to
meander over Northwest Florida and Southern Georgia, and dump a tonnage of rain
there. When it was all said and done, it left 31 people dead, and caused some $500
million dollars in damage.

Tropical Storm Beryl--Was practically a carbon copy of Alberto except for the fact that it
occurred a month and a half later in August, 1994. Slightly weaker than Alberto was,
Beryl had 60 mph winds, and a minimum central pressure of 29.50. Nevertheless, it
 dumped another 9 inches of rain on already waterlogged Tallahassee, and another 10.7
inches on Apalachicola.

Hurricane Gordon--One of the most erratic moving hurricanes, and still one of the most
deadly in the last 20 years. Starting out in the Western Caribbean off the coast of
Honduras and Nicaragua, Gordon weaved his way through the Caribbean and Florida
before making its first landfall along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It then turned
southwestward again, and moved over Florida, where it finally dissipated. The storm left
some $400 million dollars in damage, and 1145 people dead in November, 1994.

Hurricane Erin--Was one of a number of tropical storms and hurricanes in 1995. It

actually made two landfalls over Florida. The first occurred on August 2nd at Vero Beach,
and the second a few days later over Pensacola as a strong Category One Hurricane with
90 mph winds. Rain from this system was felt as far north as Illinois, and the storm
caused some $700 million dollars in damage.

Hurricane Luis--One of the most powerful hurricanes of the 19 storms from the 1995
Season. Pummeled the Leeward Islands as well as parts of Puerto Rico and the Virgin
Islands with 150 mph winds before turning out to sea in September, 1995. Caused
approximately $2.5 billion dollars in damage and killed 17 people.

Hurricane Marilyn--Formed on the heels of Hurricane Luis in the Western Atlantic back
in September, 1995, and brought Category Three Hurricane force winds to parts of the
Leeward Islands and the Virgin Islands before turning out to sea. Caused approximately
$1.5 billion dollars in damage, and left 8 people dead.

Hurricane Opal--This late season storm rapidly developed into a very strong Category
Four Hurricane before weakening to a strong Category Three Hurricane when it came
ashore near Pensacola, Florida in October, 1995. Opal ranks fifth all time in terms of
damage with an estimated $3 billion dollars.

Hurricane Roxanne--Formed in the Bay of Campeche region of Mexico in the weeks

following Hurricane Opal's landfall near Panama City, Florida. The storm was a Category
Three Hurricane with sustained winds of 115 mph, and a minimum central pressure of
28.23 inches of Hg. The storm left 14 people dead and some $1.5 billion dollars in
damage.

Hurricane Bertha--The earliest hurricane to form in the Eastern Atlantic. Developed just
West of the Cape Verde islands in the last week of June, 1996, and made landfall as a
Category Two Hurricane over Wilimngton, North Carolina on July 12, 1996. Killed 12
people, and caused some $275,000,000 dollars in damage.
 Hurricane Fran--The most powerful hurricane to make landfall in the United States
during the 1996 Hurricane Season. Made landfall over North Carolina with 115 mph
winds in September of that year, and caused some $3.2 billion dollars in damage at the
time. Damage estimates are even higher today.

Hurricane Hortense--Was a hurricane that formed during the Labor Day Weekend of the
1996 Hurricane Season. While the storm didn't make landfall in the United States, it
ravaged parts of the Caribbean including Puerto Rico with torrential rains. Damage
estimates from this storm is approximately $500 million dollars. After that, it grew in
strength to a Category Four Hurricane.

Hurricane Georges--A Classic Cape Verde Hurricane that formed in September, 1998,
Georges ripped through the Leeward Islands and Caribbean with as high as 150 mph
winds. It then hit the Florida Keys before making landfall in Mississippi. Left 602 people
dead, and caused about $5.9 billion dollars in damage.

Hurricane Mitch--A very powerful late season hurricane, Mitch had winds of 190 mph
before making landfall in Central America. It devastated Honduras with over 75 inches of
rain that spawned devastating floods and mudslides that left about 11,000 people dead
in October, 1999.

Hurricane Floyd--Also termed Storm of the Century at one point, Floyd caused the
largest peacetime evacuation in history that involved 3,000,000 people from South
Florida to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina as it bore down on the Southeast coast in
September, 1999. It later made landfall as a Category Three Hurricane over North
Carolina, and would bring up to 30 inches of rain from North Carolina to New Jersey
spawning terrible floods. Floyd ranks third all time in damage with an estimated $4.5
billion dollars in damage althogh some estimates run as high as $6 billion.

Hurricane Irene--Is an often forgotten storm from the 1999 Hurricane Season except for
those in Florida. Forming during the middle of October that year, Irene became a
Category Two Hurricane with 100 mph sustained winds, and higher gusts. The storm also
produced some 10 to 20 inches of rain across South Florida while causing 8 deaths by
electrocution, and $800 million dollars in damage.

Hurricane Lenny--Known by those in the Caribbean as "El Zorito", or "the Lefty", Lenny
was the first ever storm on record to strike the Lesser Antilles from the West in
November, 1999. It was also the most powerful late-season storm on record with 150
mph winds. The storm was responsible for approximately $330 million dollars in
damage.
 Hurricane Keith--Powerful Category Four Hurricane that struck the Central American
country of Belize in the first week of October, 2000. Making landfall near the area of
Belize City, the storm caused some two million dollars in damage, and left 11 people
dead.

Tropical Storm Leslie--Started out as a subtropical depression in the Florida Straits, and
brought some 15 to 20 inches of rain to parts of South Florida. Caused about 1,000,000
dollars in damage, and killed two people. After flooding South Florida, it gained more
tropical characteristics, and became a minimal tropical storm in October, 2000.

Hurricane Michael--Formed in the Western Atlantic in the last weeks of October, 2000,
and eventually headed northward into the Canadian Maritimes, where it brought 100
mph winds to parts of Newfoundland in Canada.

Tropical Storm Allison--Became the first tropical storm to get its name retired. Also was
the costliest tropical storm on record as it caused some $4 to $5 billion dollars in
damage. Heavy rains from the storm produced tremendous flooding in the Houston,
Texas area in the first weeks of June, 2001.

Hurricane Iris--A very small and narrow hurricane that brought 145 mph winds to the
central portion of Belize in October, 2001. The storm left some 28 people dead including
tourists from Virginia, and caused millions of dollars in damage.

Hurricane Michelle--A powerful late season hurricane, Michelle brought 135 mph winds
to portions of Western Cuba and the Isle of Youth before turning east and avoiding
South Florida by going out to sea in November, 2001.

Hurricane Isidore--A powerful Category Three Hurricane that originally developed in the
Caribbean, Isidore made landfall over the Yucatan Peninsula with 125 mph, but only
made landfall over Louisiana as a tropical storm in September, 2002.

Hurricane Lili--Another powerful hurricane that formed in the Caribbean on the heels of
Isidore, Lili grew to Category Four Strength with 140 mph winds. Threatening Louisiana
as a major hurricane, Lili encountered hostile upper level conditions just before landfall,
and weakened to just a Category Two Hurricane when it came ashore over Louisiana in
October, 2002.

Tropical Storm Ana--Usually nothing much would be said about a minimal strength
tropical storm that emerges from a subtropical depression, but Ana, which formed over
Easter Weekend in 2003, was an exception since it became the first ever recorded storm
to form in April.
 Hurricane Fabian--A hurricane that last for about a week, and a tropical system that
lasted for nearly two weeks, Fabian was a Category Four Hurricane at one point with
winds of 145 mph in September, 2003. Responsible for eight deaths and $300 million
dollars in damage, Fabian went down as the worst hurricane to strike the tiny resort
island of Bermuda since 1926.

Hurricane Isabel--A very rare and powerful Category Five Hurricane, Isabel underwent
rapid intensification and was able to stay at the highest level a hurricane can reach for
over 30 hours, which made it one of the longest lasting Category Five Storms on record.
Maximum sustained winds recorded were 160 mph, but gusts were as high as 234 mph.
Although it eventually weakened, Isabel came ashore along the Outer Banks of North
Carolina as a Category Two Hurricane, and was responsible for 16 deaths and $3.37
billion dollars in damage.

Hurricane Juan--Was the first hurricane to make landfall near Halifax, Nova Scotia in
Canada in over a century. A Category Two Hurricane, Juan was responsible for four
deaths, numerous power outages, tree damage, and went down as the most damaging
hurricane in the history of Halifax.

Hurricane Alex--Was the first hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic Hurricane Season, and even
became the season's first major hurricane as well. Alex brushed the Outer Banks of
North Carolina before turning out to sea in early August, 2004. With winds of 120 mph,
it was a solid Category Three Hurricane.

Hurricane Charley--When it was all said and done, Hurricane Charley went down as the
most devastating hurricane to hit anywhere in Florida since Hurricane Andrew in August,
1992. It also ended up being the second costliest hurricane in U.S. History behind
Andrew. Charley fooled forecasters by not only rapidly intensifiying, but also making a
turn to the north and east much sooner than anticipated, which spared the city of
Tampa, but devastated the Port Charlotte area on August 13, 2004. Winds were as high
as 145 mph, and the storm left at least 35 people dead, and $14 billion dollars in
damage.

Hurricane Frances--Not as devastating as Charley, but still a very destructive storm due
to its slow motion. Moving between 5 to 10 mph across the Florida Peninsula, Frances
pounded just about all of the Sunshine state with Tropical Storm and Hurricane force
winds for at least 24 hours on the Labor Day Weekend of 2004. Prior to that, the third
major hurricane of the 2004 season rolled through the Bahamas with 145 mph winds.
The storm left some 49 dead there while forcing the evacuation of 2.8 million people in
Florida as well as knocking out power to about 6 million there as well. Frances was also
 responsible for producing 75 tornadoes. Final damage estimate is $9 billion dollars for
the storm.

Hurricane Ivan--A classic Cape Verde storm that formed at unusually low latitude, Ivan
rapidly developed into a Category Four Hurricane during the Labor Day Weekend of 2004
before briefly weakening to a Category Two for a period. However, as it moved through
the extreme Southern Windward Islands of Barbados and Grenada, the storm
strengthened back to major hurricane status, and destroyed 75 to 90 percent of all
buildings on the island of Grenada. The storm then continued to re-energize, and reach
Category Five status. It was the second Category Five storm in as many years after
almost a five year drought following Mitch in October, 1998. It would eventually weaken
somewhat, but it still made landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama as a strong Category
Three Hurricane with 130 mph winds. Moving farther inland, Ivan's remains sparked
torrential rains, flooding, and 123 tornadoes, which is second to Hurricane Beulah's 150
in 1967. Ivan was responsible for some 124 deaths throughout the Caribbean and the
Eastern United States. Final damage estimate from not only the U.S., but also the
Caribbean totals $14.2 billion dollars.

Hurricane Jeanne--Originally not a powerful storm, Jeanne carved a path of death and
destruction from Puerto Rico into Hispanola with 80 mph winds and heavy rains in
September, 2004. The torrential rainfall produced floods and mudslides in Haiti, which
left an estimated 1500 people dead in addition to 31 that were killed in Puerto Rico and
the Dominican Republic. The storm has also been known for its erratic motion taking an
eastward turn away from the United States after going through the Bahamas, and then
turning southward, and westward back toward land. Jeanne finally made landfall in the
United States along the South Central Coast of Florida near Stuart with winds of 120
mph. It was the fifth storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane to impact the
Sunshine State in 2004. After impacting Florida, the storm spread northward into the
Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast, where it produced flooding rains and tornadoes.
Total death toll was estimated to be over 3,000, and the final damage total is estimated
to be $6.9 billion.

Hurricane Dennis--Was a rare powerful July hurricane that formed in the Southeastern
Caribbean a few hundred miles to the West-Northwest of Grenada on the evening of July
4th, 2005. Gradually strengthening in the days that followed, Dennis brought heavy rains
to Jamaica, the Caymans, and Hispanola, but bore the brunt of its assault on Cienfuegos,
Cuba with 150 mph winds. The coastal Cuban community was devastated as telephone
poles and wires were knocked down. Just missing Category Five strength on the Saffir-
Simpson Scale, Dennis cross the narrow, but rugged terrain of Cuba, and re-emerged in
 the Gulf of Mexico as a Category One storm before rapidly intensifying to a Category
Four Hurricane in the early morning hours of July 10th, 2005. Dennis eventually made
landfall near Pensacola, Florida on the afternoon of July 10th. So far, the death toll from
the storm stands at 32, and inital damage estimates range from $1 billion to $2.5 billion.

Hurricane Emily--Was another rare powerful July hurricane that formed in the Atlantic
on the heels of Hurricane Dennis during the week of July 10th, 2005. The storm became
the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the month of July after its winds reached a
peak speed of 160 mph, and its minimum central pressure dropped to 929 mb, or 27.43
inches of Hg. This just surpassed the levels previously established by Dennis, and made it
the first Category Five Hurricane of the 2005 season. Three more Cat Fives would follow.
Although Emily ransacked the island of Grenada, which was still recovering from
Hurricane Ivan's impact in September, 2004, the storm mercifully spared the islands of
Jamaica and the Caymans as well as weakened before making landfall in the Yucatan.
The storm did regain some steam after losing its punch over the plateau of the Yucatan
Peninsula, and made a final landfall as a major hurricane in Northeastern Mexico with
winds of 125 mph. The storm was responsible for 64 deaths, and initially $300,000,000
dollars in damage. It also contributed to the rise in oil prices by forcing the evacuation of
employees of Mexico's primary oil company, PEMEX, from their offshore rigs in the Gulf
of Mexico.

Hurricane Katrina--Started out modestly on August 23rd, 2005 in the Bahamas as a

tropical wave that emerged from the remnants of a tropical depression that had been in
the Caribbean. It gradually grew into the season's eleventh named storm and fourth
hurricane prior to making landfall in South Florida as a minimal hurricane with maximum
sustained winds of 80 mph, and gusts up to 95 mph. After quickly crossing Southern
Florida, Katrina emerged again over water in the Southeastern Gulf of Mexico near the
Florida Keys, and strengthened to the 2005 season's third major hurricane before
reorganizing into the most powerful storm in the Central Gulf since Hurricane Camille,
and fourth Category Five Hurricane in three years with winds as high as 175 mph, and a
minimum central pressure of 902 mb, or 26.64 inches of Hg. It became the fourth most
powerful hurricane of all time ahead of Camille and behind Hurricane Gilbert(1988), the
Labor Day of Hurricane of 1935, and Hurricane Allen (1980). After coming ashore as a
Category One Hurricane in South Florida, Katrina struck two more times along the Gulf
Coast. First in Buras, Louisiana with 140 mph winds, and then near Bay St. Louis,
Mississippi with 135 mph winds. It created a 27 foot storm surge in Gulfport, Mississippi
and a 22 foot storm surge in Bay St. Louis. Winds as high as 90 mph were felt as far east
as Mobile, Alabama, which experienced its worst flooding in 90 years. To make matters
worse, part of an oil rig broke away in Mobile Bay and hit a nearby causway possibly
 causing damage there. Waves as high as 48 feet happened offshore in the Gulf of
Mexico. Some 50 people were killed in coastal Mississippi including 30 in an apartment
complex in Biloxi. Katrina even ripped off part of the roof of the Louisiana Superdome,
where 10,000 people were staying in the facility, which was being used as a shelter of
last resort. Extensive flooding occurred in New Orleans, which was actually spared the
brunt of the storm. The 9th ward in the Crescent City was underwater as well as 80
percent of the city. People fled to their attics to escape drowning and some were
rescued by helicopters and boats. So far, the latest death toll is at 1,833 (Louisiana-1582,
Mississippi-170, Florida-30, Alabama-48, Georgia-2, Tennessee-1 with damage estimates
now are up to $81 billion. Experts fear that the total cost for the storm could be $200
billion dollars, which would make Katrina the costliest hurricane and natural disaster in
United States History.

Hurricane Rita--The seventeenth named storm and fifth major hurricane of the 2005
season, Rita began near the Turks and Caicos Islands as a mere tropical depression on
September 17th, 2005. However, as it passed near the Florida Keys and South Florida,
Rita blossomed into the season's ninth hurricane, and brought sustained winds of
Category Two strength with gusts over 100 mph. Continuing to strengthen, Hurricane
Rita became a major hurricane on September 21st, 2005 as its eye experienced a 77
millibar drop in just 39 hours. The storm, which followed a similar track to the
devastating Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast
on August 29th, 2005, became the third Category Five Hurricane to emerge in 2005 with
175 mph winds, and a minimum central pressure of 897 mb, or 26.49 inches of Hg.
Hurricane Hunters also found wind gusts as high as 235 mph. With those statistics, Rita is
not only the most powerful hurricane of 2005 so far, but it is also now third on the all
time list ahead of Katrina and Hurricane Allen, and behind only Hurricane Gilbert (1988)
and the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. The approach of Rita to the Western Gulf Coast,
prompted the evacuation of some 2.7 million people. Poor planning led to traffic jams
and cars running out of gas in Texas. A usual four hour trip from Houston to Dallas ended
up taking as long as 18 hours. Prior to making landfall, the storm had already caused
problems including the deaths of 107 people trying to flee the storm, flooding in
Galveston, and breeches in the New Orleans levee system that was severely damaged by
Hurricane Katrina a month earlier. Twenty-four of those people that died during
evacuation were in a bus that had a fire and explosion on Interstate 45 south of Dallas,
Texas, Rita finally made landfall in the Sabine Pass area of the Texas/Louisiana border in
the early morning hours of September 24th, 2005 bringing with it wind gusts as high as
111 mph in Cameron, Louisiana, and heavy damage in Lake Charles and Vermillion
Parish. Approximately 1.1 million people were initialy without power in Texas and
Louisiana. Damage estimates from the storm are currently $6 billion dollars, and 54
 people were directly killed by the storm including five who lost their lives in an
Apartment Complex in Beaumont, Texas, a man, who lost his life when a tornado struck
in Northern Mississippi, and an East Texas man, who died at the hands of a fallen tree.

Hurricane Stan--The eighteenth named storm, and tenth hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic
Hurricane Season started out modestly, and only was a Category One Hurricane on the
Saffir-Simpson Scale when it made landfall over Southern Mexico, but the heavy rains it
produced resulted in a deadly toll. Unofficially, as of this time, there have been up to
1,500 deaths in Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.
Officially, there have been 796 deaths so far throughout Mexico (71 dead) and Central
America including 652 in Guatemala, and another 71 in El Salvador. In addition, the
Mexican Government estimates that damage from Stan will cost approximately $1.9
billion U.S. Dollars while crop damage in El Salvador is estimated to be about $10 million.
The death toll reported so far with Hurricane Stan makes this storm among the most
deadly of all time, and may even surpass the tally accumulated by Hurricane Katrina
along the Gulf Coast of the United States. Reasons for the high death toll is that the
heavy rains from the dissipating storm produced severe flooding and mudslides. Rainfall
amounts ranging between 15 to 20 inches was reported in the region.

Hurricane Vince--Well...Ok, you probably think that this storm was nothing special, but it
actually was for several reasons. Forming in the second full week of October, 2005, Vince
not only became the 20th named storm and 11th hurricane of the busy 2005 season,
but it also marked the first time since the naming of storms began in 1950, that a season
reached the "V" named storm. The previous mark was set in 1995 when that season
reached the "T" named storm. It also set history in a couple more ways as well. Forming
in the vicinity of the Madiera Islands in the Northeastern Atlantic, Hurricane Vince was
the first hurricane on record to form in this region. In addition, Vince became the first
tropical cyclone of any kind to make landfall in Spain as it made landfall in the
Southwestern portion of the Western European country near Huelva on October 11,
2005 as a tropical depression with 35 mph winds and a minimum central pressure of
1002 mb, or 29.59 inches.

Hurricane Wilma--There is no question about this one being on the list. Wilma started
out modestly as the 24th depression of the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season on Saturday,
October 15th, and battled some ups and downs that weekend, but over time the storm
would become a monster. In a span of 36 hours from Tuesday morning, October 18th to
Wednesday afternoon, October 19th, the barometric pressure in the storm dropped
some 102 mb to an all time low for pressure in the Atlantic Basin of 882 mb, or 26.05
inches of Hg. Maximum sustained winds increased to 175 mph. Wilma is now the
 strongest storm all time in the Atlantic surpassing the mark set by Hurricane Gilbert in
1988 (888 mb). It also was the 21st named storm, 12th hurricane, and 6th major
hurricane of 2005, which equaled marks for storms in 1933 and hurricanes in 1969.
Wilma was the fourth Category Five Hurricane to form in the season as well
joining Katrina and Rita, which are also among the five or six strongest storms on record.
After reaching its peak, Wilma gradually decreased in intensity to a strong Category Four
with 140 mph before making its first landfall over Cozumel, Mexico on Friday, October
21, 2005. Six hours later on Friday night, Wilma slowly moved over the Yucatan as it
made a second landfall in Cancun. After bringing hurricane force winds to the Yucatan
for over 24 hours, the storm gradually departed, and moved out over the Southern Gulf
of Mexico, where it was picked up by a trough over the Eastern United States, and
carried across Florida. Moving as fast as 25 miles per hour to the Northeast, Wilma
made a third landfall over Cape Romano, Florida some 22 miles to the south of Naples,
and brought with it winds of Category Three strength at 125 mph. Wilma had a
devastating effect on much of the East Coast of South Florida including Fort Lauderdale,
which experienced its worst hurricane in 55 years. Nearby in Key Biscayne wind gusts
were as high as 116 mph while they were 95 at Opa Locka Airport outside Miami.
Betweenthree and six million people were left without power in the hours after the
storm. Waves as high as 45 feet came over the sea wall, and battered the capital of
Havana in Cuba. Swells as high as 50 feet were also reported. The storm has already
killed some 48 people in Florida (31 deaths), Mexico and throughout the Caribbean
including places as far away as Haiti. Initial damage estimates are said to be $10 billion
dollars.

Tropical Storm Alpha--Not too many tropical storms get mentioned in this list unless
they are record breakers, or what we call storms of the unusual. Alpha does meet this
criteria as it was the 22nd named storm to form in the Tropical Atlantic during the 2005
Atlantic Hurricane season, which broke the record previously set in 1933 with 21 storms.
It also marked the first time since names have been used in the Atlantic (since 1950) that
a second list of storm names was used for the same season. There have also been 12
hurricanes in 2005, which equaled the mark set in 1969, and 6 major hurricanes
including three Category Five storms, which is also a record. So far, Alpha has been
responsible for some 26 deaths in the Caribbean.

Hurricane Beta--Like Alpha, Beta is an historic storm for different reasons. Only a
Category One Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale on October 28th, 2005,
Beta originally developed in the extreme Southwestern Caribbean on October 26th,
2005. It became the 23rd named storm of the season, and then strengthened to the
13th hurricane of the season as well. With winds of 90 mph, and a minimum central
 pressure of 28.79 inches of Hg, Beta became a record breaking hurricane by placing
2005 in the history books again with the most hurricanes in a season. 2005 broke the
previous mark set in 1969 with 12 hurricanes. On the morning of October 29th, Beta
strengthened to its peak intensity as a major hurricane with 115 mph winds and a
minimum central pressure of 28.35 inches of Hg. making it the seventh major hurricane
of the 2005 season. That tied the season for second all time for most major hurricanes
with 1961, which also had seven major storms. 1950 had the most major hurricanes
with eight. The storm would finally make landfall in Nicaragua some 50 miles to the
north of Bluefields on October 29th.

Hurricane Dean--The fourth named storm of the 2007 Atlantic Hurricane Season not
only became the first hurricane, but also the first major hurricane of that season.
Forming in the Eastern Atlantic on August 13th, it was the first real Cape Verde storm of
2007. Gradually strengthening, Dean grew to have maximum sustained winds as high as
165 miles per hour with gusts up to 200 miles per hour, which classified it as a Category
Five Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Its minimum pressure dropped as low as 906
millibars, or 26.75 inches of Hg (Mercury), which was stronger than Hurricane Ivan back
in September 2004, and right behind hurricanes Camille (1969) and Mitch (1998) among
the all time most powerful storms recorded in the Atlantic. Dean also became the third
most intense hurricane to make landfall in the Atlantic Basin behind the Labor Day
Hurricane of 1935, and Hurricane Gilbert. Following a similar track to that of both Ivan
in 2004 and Gilbert in 1988, Dean moved through the central portion of the Lesser
Antilles including Dominica and Martinique, then moved south of Puerto Rico, the Virgin
Islands, and Hispaniola before battering the island nation of Jamaica as its eye just
brushed its southermost point. The storm also bypassed the Cayman Island chain before
coming ashore in the Yucatan Peninsula near the towns of Costa Maya and Majahual,
which is 40 miles to the East-Northeast of Chetumal at 4:30 PM EDT on August 21, 2007.
After being over the Yucatan for about twelve hours, the storm re-emerged in the Bay of
Campeche as a minimal hurricane, but gradually re-strengthened to a Category Two
storm with 100 mph winds when it made a second landfall along the Mexican coastline
in the early afternoon of August 22, 2007 near Gutierrez Zamora some 40 miles South-
Southeast of Tuxpan. The latest death toll has the storm leaving behind forty-five people
dead including twenty-five in Mexico, and twenty throughout the Caribbean including
nine in Haiti, six in the Dominican Republic, two in Dominica, two in Jamaica, and one in
St. Lucia. The storm has so far caused some $2 billion in damage including a battering of
the oil fields for the Mexican national oil company, PEMEX, and shutting down a plant
run in Jamaica by Pittsburgh based Aluminum producer, Alcoa.
 Hurricane Felix--The fifth named storm of the 2007 Atlantic Hurricane Season not only
became the second hurricane, and major hurricane of that season, but also the season's
secondCategory Five Hurricane. Forming over two weeks after Hurricane Dean in the
Eastern Atlantic on August 31st, it was the second Cape Verde storm of 2007. Rapidly
strengthening in the very warm waters of the Southern Caribbean during the Labor Day
Weekend, Felix grew to have maximum sustained winds as high as 165 miles per hour
with gusts up to 200 miles per hour, which classified it as a Category Five Hurricane on
the Saffir-Simpson Scale. After the storm experienced a fall of 78 millibars in 52 hours,
Felix's minimum pressure dropped as low as 929 millibars, or 27.43 inches of Hg
(Mercury) which was stronger as Hurricane Michelle from late October, 2001 and as
strong as Hurricane Emily from July, 2005 among the all time most powerful
storms recorded in the Atlantic. Its pressure drop is second all time to Hurricane
Wilma from October 2005, which was 83 millibars in 12 hours, and ahead of Hurricane
Allen (1980). Following a similar track to that of both Ivan in 2004 and Emily in 2005,
Felix moved through the southern Windwards including Grenada, St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, and their dependencies, then moved well south of Puerto Rico, the Virgin
Islands, and Hispaniola before threatening the usually unscathed ABC islands of Aruba,
Bonaire, and Curacao in the Nertherlands Antilles. The storm eventually bypassed
Jamaica and the Caymans as well as the Colombian enclave of Isla de Providencia before
coming ashore on the Northern Coast of Nicaragua near the city of Cabo Gracias A Dios
as a Category Five Hurricane with sustained winds of 160 miles per hour, and a minimum
central pressure of 935 millibars, or 27.61 inches. The storm then proceeded to cross
Central America with heavy rains that produced flooding and mudslides in interior
portions of Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and the Chiapas region of Southern
Mexico. As of now, Felix is responsible for 130 deaths along coastal Nicaragua. Prior to
landfall, Felix had reintensified into a Cat Five storm after weakening to a minimal
Category Four storm with 135 mile per hour winds, and 160 mile per hour gusts late
Sunday, September 2nd.

Hurricane Humberto--Putting this storm on the list is debatable. However, Hurricane

Humberto from the 2007 Atlantic Hurricane Season is significant for several reasons.
First, it was a storm that went from depression status to a Category One Hurricane on
the Saffir-Simpson Scale with 85 mile per hour winds over a span of just 14 hours. In
addition, the storm's formation in the oil platform rich area of the Western Gulf of
Mexico pushed oil prices up to over $80 per barrel. Finally, and most significantly,
Humberto's landfall was the first landfall by an Atlantic Hurricane along the U.S.
coastline since Hurricane Wilma back in October 2005. The storm crossed the Texas
shoreline near High Point, Texas, and peaked at 85 mile per hour winds, 105 mile per
hour wind gusts, and a barometric pressure as low as 29.12 inches of Hg (Mercury), or
 986 millibars. The storm left approximately $500 million dollars in damage in Texas and
Louisiana.

Hurricane Noel--Like Humberto, it was a minimal storm, but this Category One
Hurricane was the deadliest and most costly hurricane of the 2007 Atlantic Hurricane
Season. The storm, which formed 185 miles South-Southeast of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti left
some 163 people dead as well as 59 missing. In addition, Noel left behind some $742
million in damages including $500 million on the island of Cuba alone. Maximum
sustained winds were 80 miles per hour with gusts up to 95 miles per hour. Minimum
central pressure dropped to 28.94 inches, or 980 millibars.

Tropical Storm Fay--The storm was the first in a series of four storms to affect the United
States over a span of a month. This one was the weakest of the four, but it did cause its
share of problems with torrential rains, especially across Florida. Flooding was extensive
in East Central Florida including Brevard county. In that county, some 15,000 homes
were flooded and another 93,000 were left without power from the gusty winds. Areas
that were hit harder were more rural. The storm also wreaked havoc in Hispaniola where
it interacted with the mountainous terrain there producing torrential rains. Thankfully,
there were only 13 direct and eight indirect deaths from the storm in Haiti, Dominican
Republic, and Florida. The storm caused some $560 million dollars in damage including
$195 million in Florida, $25 million in Georgia, and another $25 million in Alabama.

Hurricane Gustav--Almost three years to the day that Hurricane Katrina made landfall
along the Gulf Coast, Gustav emerged in the Caribbean where it pounded Western Cuba
before moving into the Gulf, and giving another scare to residents in Louisiana and
Mississippi. The storm strengthened to near Category Five strength with 155 mile per
hour winds. Barometric pressure in the eye of the storm dropped to 27.79 inches of Hg,
or about 941 millibars. The storm made six total landfalls including four as a hurricane.
Gustav moved over the Isle of Youth near Cuba with winds of 145 miles per hour. It
made another landfall in Cuba near Los Palacios with 155 mile per hour winds. The
storm eventually came ashore along the Gulf Coast of the U.S. near Cocodrie, Louisiana
with winds of Category Two strength of 105 miles per hour. Gustav left some 153 people
dead and approximately $4.3 billion in damage.

Hurricane Hanna--Formed on the heels of Hurricane Gustav, but didn't have the same
punch of her predecessor. Peaking at moderate Category One strength with 85 mile per
hour winds. However, it still caused a great deal of death and destruction in the
Caribbean. The storm took a track that eventually took it up the Eastern Seaboard during
the weekend after Labor Day. Hanna was briefly a hurricane when it was over the Caicos
Islands. It made a United States landfall as a tropical storm over the border between
 North and South Carolina. The storm was a major rainmaker bringing torrential rains to
Haiti, where nearly 800 people were killed by flooding from the storm. Hanna eventually
impacted the Garden State, where it actually strengthend for a while to have 55 mile per
hour winds near Atlantic City. It dumped torrential rains on New Jersey along with gusty
winds. In total, the storm caused some $160 million in damage.

Hurricane Ike--This storm was the most significant of the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane
Season. It was the first big storm to make landfall in Galveston, Texas since Hurricane
Alicia in 1983. The storm is also the third costliest storm in U.S. history with estimates
between 25 and 29 billion dollars. Only Hurricane Katrina (2005) and Hurricane Andrew
(1992) were more devastating. The storm peaked at Category Four strength with 145
mile per hour winds and a minimum central pressure of 27.61 inches of Hg, or 935
millibars. When it came ashore at Galveston, Ike had winds of 110 miles per hour, and a
minimum central pressure of 950 millibars, or 28.05 inches of Hg. The hurricane made
several landfalls including two in Cuba, and one in the Bahamas before coming ashore in
Texas. After blowing through Galveston, Ike wasn't finished as its remnants moved into
the Midwest and Ohio Valley. There, at least 28 direct and indirect deaths were reported
in Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. In
total, Ike left 103 people dead. In Ohio, the storm rivaled the Super Outbreak of 1974 as
the costliest natural disaster in state history with $1.1 billion in damage. The remnants of
Ike even made an impact on Canada where 50 mile per hour winds downed power lines
in Southeastern Ontario and Quebec.

Hurricane Paloma--Was the last named storm and hurricane of the 2008 season.
Affecting the Western Caribbean, Paloma became the second strongest hurricane on
record in the Atlantic during the month of November behind Hurricane Lenny (1999).
The storm peaked at Category Four strength with 145 mile per hour winds and a
minimum central pressure of 27.88 inches of Hg, or about 944 millibars. Paloma affected
the Cayman Islands and Western Cuba, where it made two landfalls near Santa Cruz del
Sur and Camaguey. Maximum sustained winds at landfall were 85 knots or 100 miles per
hour while minimum central pressure was 970 millibars, or 28.64 inches of Hg. While the
storm was not blamed directly or indirectly for any deaths, it did cause $15 to $20
million dollars in damage in the Caymans with the heaviest damage there to Little
Cayman and Cayman Brac. Cuba suffered some $300 million in damage with over 12,000
homes damaged, and another 1,500 destroyed.

Hurricane Igor--A vast and powerful Cape Verde storm, Igor eventually became the
strongest hurricane of the 2010 season. At peak intensity, Igor was a strong Category
Four storm on the cusp of Cat Five intensity with sustained winds of 155 miles per hour.
 The storm went through several flucutations in intensity thanks to eyewall replacement
cycles, but remained resilient. Eventually made landfall in Bermuda as a Category One
hurricane before slamming into Newfoundland as a stronger storm, which turned out to
be the most devastating in that Canadian province's history. At one point, Igor had a
wind field that was 740 nautical miles across according to a report filed on it by the
National Hurricane Center. The storm lasted 15 days, and had a minimum central
pressure of 924 millibars, or 27.29 inches of Hg. Three people were killed either directly
or indirectly by the storm, which also caused approximately $200 million dollars in
damage in Newfoundland. Igor's name was retired in 2011, and replaced by Ian for the
2016 season.

Hurricane Irene--The ninth named storm of the 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season was the
only storm to be retired from that season. It was a major hurricane that fell just shy of
Category Four intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Irene was the first landfalling
hurricane in the United States since 2008 when Hurricane Ike crashed into Galveston.
The storm lashed the Bahamas before taking aim on the East Coast of the United States.
Irene put New York City under a Hurricane Warning for the first time since 1985. The
storm was the only the third hurricane to make landfall in New Jersey, and the first to
make two landfalls there. The storm was the first to cross New York City since 1893. NYC
had to shut down the subway system for the first time in that city's history. Hurricane
Irene would be remembered for the tremendous flooding it caused in New York, New
Jersey, and Vermont. Approximately 65 million people were affected by the storm. A
total of 21 people were killed across 8 different states. Pressure dropped to 970 millibars
or 28.63 inches of Hg, which is a record for South Plainfield, New Jersey. Irene also
dumped 5.34 inches in Northwestern Middlesex County adding to an already
waterlogged August rainfall total. The storm also affected the Outer Banks of North
Carolina, where it made its first landfall on August 26th. In the Tar-Heel State, some 225
roads and 21 bridges were shut down while two piers were destroyed. Initial insurance
estimates had Irene causing some $10 billion dollars in damage while power companies
guessed that approximately 4.5 million people were without power from the
storm. Flooding and downed trees closed roads in Delaware; Tornado caused damage in
the city of Lewes. Downed trees and power lines along with flooding closed about 200
roads in parts of Maryland. Widespread flooding, storm surge of up to 8 feet in Norfolk,
and 11 inches of rain in Suffolk in Virginia.

Tropical Storm Lee--Was not a powerful storm, but it was a tremendous rain maker,
especially by the time it got into the Mid-Atlantic, where its remnants dumped torrential
rains on the Susquehanna Valley region of New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Places
such as Binghamton (New York), Scranton (Pennsylvania), Wilkes-Barre (Pennsylvania),
 and many towns and villages along the long flowing river, experience historic flooding.
New Jersey wasn't spared either with some downpours from the outer fringes of what
was left of Lee adding almost another five inches of rain to areas of the Garden State
that didn't need it.

Hurricane Ernesto--The fifth named storm of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season was
not particularly a powerful, deadly, or devastating storm. However, it was the first
hurricane to make landfdall anywhere in the Atlantic Basin, and it had the unique
distinction of being a rare Atlantic storm that crossed Mexico to become a system in the
Eastern Pacific (Tropical Storm Hector). Peak intensity with Ernesto was only 85 mile per
hour winds as it lashed much of the Southern Yucatan.

Hurricane Isaac--The ninth named storm and fourth hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic
Hurricane season was a much more devastating storm than its Category One storm stats
would suggest. Even though it had only maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour,
its size, low pressure, and duration, made it a relentless storm that pummeled the
Northern Gulf coast from Louisiana eastward to the extreme Western Florida Panhandle.
The storm even generated feeder bands that produced storms that dumped over 5
inches of rain in South Carolina, hundreds of miles away from the storm's center.
Barometric pressure bottomed out at 968 millibars, which was more characteristic of a
Category Two Hurricane. The storm made impacts across the Caribbean in Hispaniola
and Cuba before finally becoming a hurricane prior to making two landfalls in Louisiana.
Isaac generated impressive storm surge totals for a Category One storm including 11 feet
above normal just outside of New Orleans. Issac was a slow mover with a forward
motion of only 5 to 6 miles per hour across Louisiana. After making landfall, the storm
only moved some 60 miles over a span of 24 hours.

Hurricane Sandy--Also known as Superstorm Sandy, this hurricane did strengthen to a

Category Three Hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour prior to
its first landfall in Cuba. At the height of its powers, Hurricane Sandy had tropical storm
winds extend some 1,000 miles from its center of circulation, and its entire diameter
encompassed some 2,000 miles. Minimum central pressure dropped to 940 millibars,
which wound up being the lowest pressure ever recorded north of Cape Hatteras, North
Carolina. The storm, which originated in the Southwestern Caribbean near Jamaica, and
produced a variety of weather including: high winds, rain, waves, storm surge,
tornadoes, and even blizzard conditions, would make its biggest impact to the Mid-
Atlantic as it moved up the Eastern Seaboard, and then made a dramatic and
unprecedented left turn into the Jersey Shore near Atlantic City. Besides making this rare
left turn into New Jersey, the storm, which began undergoing a transition to an
 extratropical system, re-energized to have winds of 90 miles per hour just hours before
coming ashore. Once it came inland over the Garden State, Sandy produced strong
winds of up to 70 miles per hour at Greg's Weather Center in South Plainfield, which
uprooted trees, downed power poles and power lines, smashed traffic lights, and
damaged windows and store signs. At the coast in South Amboy, a record storm surge
that was as high as 13.3 feet at Sandy Hook and King's Point in New York, destroyed
vegetation, brought boats and ships ashore, ripped up walkways, tore down fences, and
wiped out some nearby homes. Down the coast in the Union Beach section of Hazlet,
many homes and businesses were wiped clean. Nearby towns of Keyport and Keansburg
also experienced significant damage. Further to the north, a record surge of 13.88 feet
occurred in New York Harbor, and produced flooding in Lower Manhattan and Hoboken.
Significant flooding also occurred in the area of the Hackensack River including towns:
Hackensack, South Hackensack, Little Ferry, and Moonachie. Superstorm Sandy caused
power failures in 17 states and originally left some 8.2 million people without power. The
storm impacted weather in West Virginia and as far west as Lake Michigan, where waves
rose as high as 20.3 feet. An estimated total of 60 million people were affected by the
storm, and 33 were left dead in the United States. Another 69 were killed in the
Caribbean for a death toll of 102. Of those dead in the United States: 18 were killed in
New York including 10 in New York City, 6 people were killed in New Jersey, and 4 were
killed in Pennsylvania.

Hurricane Humberto--Was the first of two hurricanes in 2013 after a very busy 2012
season. It didn't become a hurricane until the early morning hours of September
11th. Humberto's formation near mid-September was the latest a hurricane had formed
during the active cycle that had started in 1995. The storm didn't cause any damage or
casualties as it trekked through the Eastern and Central Atlantic affecting the Cape Verde
Islands and the Azores. Maximum sustained winds topped out at 90 miles per hour while
minimum central pressure dropped to 979 millibars, or 28.91 inches.

Hurricane Ingrid--Was the one storm retired from the 2013 season. It only grew to be a
Category One Hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 knots or 85 miles per hour
with a minimum central pressure of 983 millibars, or 29.03 inches of Hg. However, this
storm managed to become a potent and deadly storm thanks to the tremendous
amounts of rain it produced. According to the National Hurricane Center, Ingrid dumped
20.11 inches of rain in Tuxpan, Mexico as well as 14.46 inches at La Pesca, and 19.38
inches at Paso de Molina. Only 32 deaths were attributed to the storm in Mexico, and
damage was estimated to be as high as $230 million.
 Hurricane Edouard--Became not only the first major hurricane in the Atlantic in 2014,
but also since Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. The storm strengthened to have
maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour, and a minumum central pressure of
955 millibars, or 28.20 inches of Hg. While the storm was so powerful, it stayed away
from land as it traveled around the Eastern and Central Atlantic from about several
hundred miles to the west of the Cape Verde Islands to about several miles to the west
of the Azores. No deaths or damage were attributed to this storm, but it ended nearly a
two year drought of major hurricanes in the Atlantic.

Hurricane Fay--Was a short lived October 2014 hurricane that lasted only four days, but
became the first hurricane to make landfall over the island of Bermuda since 1987 when
Emily came ashore there. The storm peaked at 80 mile per hour winds and 983 millibars
or 29.03 inches of Hg. The storm produced some 14 inches of rain on the island, downed
utlity poles and trees, and street signs. Approximately 27,000 people were left without
power on the island, and original estimates of $3.8 million in damage.

Hurricane Gonzalo--A storm that was fast on the heels of Hurricane Fay in October 2014,
Gonzalo developed in the Western Atlantic to the East of the Lesser Antilles, and grew to
be a strong Category Two Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale when it came through
Bermuda. At peak intensity, Hurricane Gonzalo had maximum sustained winds of 125
miles per hour with a minimum central pressure of 940 millibars or approximately 27.76
inches of Hg (Mercury). The storm was responsible for three deaths in the Leeward
Islands, but none in Bermuda. Gonzalo left approximately $200 to $400 million in
damage on Bermuda.

Hurricane Joaquin--The most powerful storm in the Tropical Atlantic during the 2015
season, Joaquin was a Category Four Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale with peak
sustained winds of 135 miles per hour and a minimum central pressure of 931 millibars
or E27.49 inches of Hg. The hurricane hammered the Bahamas island chain with
Crooked Islands, Long Cay, Acklins Island, Long Island, Rum Cay, San Salvador,
Mayaguana, and Exuma. Storm surge was as high as 12 to 15 feet in Rum Cay, Crooked
Island, and Acklins. There was also anywhere from 5 to 10 inches in the Central and
Southeastern Bahamas. The Turks and Caicos islands were also affected as well as Haiti,
Cuba, and Bermuda. The storm also combined with another low pressure system in the
Eastern United States to produce significant flooding in South Carolina, and heavy rains
and nor'easter like conditions as far north as New Jersey. Charleston Airport in South
 Carolina repoorted a one day rainfall total of 11.50 inches on October 3rd, and a four
day total of 17.29 inches over the first four days of October. The storm left 34 people
dead including thirty-three on the El Faro, a ship that was sunk by the storm, and caused
some $60 million in damage in the Bahamas.

Hurricane Patricia--This was a powerful storm in the Eastern Pacific, which became the
strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere. Intensifying to a Category
Five Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale thanks in large part to the extremely warm
waters of the Eastern Pacific resulting from an El Nino, Patricia had maximum sustained
winds of 185 miles per hour with gusts well over 200 miles per hour while its minimum
central pressure dipped to 872 millibars, or approximately 25.75 inches of Hg (Mercury).
The strongest storm prior to that was Hurricane Wilma in the Atlantic in October 2005,
which had a lowest pressure of 882 millibars, or 26.05 inches of Hg. The storm
eventually came ashore in the sparsely populated region of Southwestern Mexico and
left six people dead, and caused some $325 million dollars in damage.

HISTORY OF TORNADO
A tornado appears as a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that extends from a thunderstorm to the
ground with whirling winds that can reach 300 miles per hour. Damage paths can be in excess of
one mile wide and 50 miles long. Some tornadoes are clearly visible, while rain or nearby low-
hanging clouds obscure others. Occasionally, tornadoes develop so rapidly that little, if any,
advance warning is possible.

Before a tornado hits, the wind may die down and the air may become very still. A cloud of
debris can mark the location of a tornado even if a funnel is not visible. Tornadoes generally
occur near the trailing edge of a thunderstorm. It is not uncommon to see clear, sunlit skies
behind a tornado.

Tornadoes cause an average of 70 fatalities and 1,500 injuries in the U.S. each year.

The strongest tornadoes have rotating winds of more than 250 mph.

Tornadoes can be more than one mile wide and stay on the ground for over 50 miles.

Tornadoes may appear nearly transparent until dust and debris are picked up or a cloud
forms within the funnel.

The average forward speed is 30 mph but may vary from nearly stationary to 70 mph.
 Waterspouts are tornadoes which form over warm water. They can move onshore and
cause damage to coastal areas.

ldest Known Tornado Photo - Date: 1884 August 28 Historic NWS Collection 22 miles
southwest of Howard, South Dakota Courtesy NOAA/Department of Commerce

Taken from the Mars Spirit on 12-Apr-2007 Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Today, with modern technology, tornadoes are very easy to identify. Most everyone has at least
an idea of what a tornado is and looks like. But was this always so?

In July 1643 Governor John Winthrop described a sort of wind gust that could have possibly
been one of the first recorded tornadoes in history. Winthrop, who was ever conscious of the
weather, recorded that there was a sudden gust in northeastern Massachusetts and costal New
Hampshire. According to Winthrop this gust blew down many trees, filled the air with dust,
lifted up a meetinghouse in Newbury, and killed one Indian. Because there was no weather
technology in that time period we have no way of knowing whether this gust was a true
tornado or not.

At Cambridge, Massachusetts on July 8, 1680, a whirl-wind was witnessed. Rev. Increase

Mather tells in his Remarkable Providences of eyewitness accounts of this terrible whirling
wind. One eyewitness, Samuel Stone, described it as a whirl-wind that tore trees, sucked up hay,
tore off a large portion of a barn roof, and made a singing noise so very loud that the people
around could not hear the falling objects. It was said that you could find people a mile away that
could hear those objects falling. Matthew Bridge reported that its motion was continually
circular, tearing bushes by the roots, removing old trees, and sucking up large rocks that were
not found again. One servant man, John Robbins, was killed by this whirl-wind because of
broken bones and overall body bruising. It is interesting to note that this whirl-winds path
was close to that of a larger storm that moved through West Cambridge on August 22, 1851.

Many more gusts and whirl-winds were described in the New England area during this
time. A dreadful havoc was witnessed in Southern Connecticut in 1682. On July 1748 at
Groton, Massachusetts, a terrible tornado, with shocking thunder was reported by Rev.
Joseph Emerson with many other reports being given. Another tornado was reported at
Leicester in 1759, and another on the Merrimac River in August 1773. A whole tornado
outbreak was reported to have happened in May 1782. The reports for the 1700s go on and on,
with all descriptions including things like trees being torn out of the ground, houses being
racked and torn apart, barns being crushed to the ground, and people being carried short
periods of time in these terrible destructive clouds. Even though there was no radar in these
times that could enable us to check out these reports, it is quite obvious by their nature that
these were no minor gusts of wind.

In Wethersfield Connecticut, August 18, 1787 a well documented tornado outbreak took place
with some of the most interesting descriptions of a tornado ever. Here is a small portion of one
account from that day taken from "Early American Tornadoes 1586 -1870" by David M. Ludlum
Published by the American Meteorological Society.

"CONNECTICUT Wethersfield, August 18, 1787 Messrs Printers, I was myself an eyewitness of
but a small part of the hurricane, and that near the time of its disappearance, and at the
distance of almost two miles from the line of passage I was, however, as soon as possible, on
the ground, and spent most of the next day traversing for some miles the scene of desolation,
making observations and collecting the best possible information from those who were near or
saved from its fury. That my information may be as accurate as possible, I have delayed giving
you the account until this day whether it be exactly so, I dare not pronounce in regard to other
towns adjacent I can only say it is the best I can procure.

On the day mentioned, the wind was very fresh from the southward; at about twelve at noon an
un-usually black cloud appeared to be ranged from the western to somewhat past the northern
point, its upper edge was indented and formed irregular columns, something resembling
pyramids, which reached to within about 35 degrees of the zenith the appearance of this cloud,
I took notice, was different from the common thunder-cloud, being one continued sheet, singly
defined at the edges, and not a con-genes it did, however, produce a peal or two of thunder,
and a little rain this happened I think between the hours of one and two oclock P.M. about
three oclock P.M. the hurricane was seen to approach near the western boundary of Stepney
parish a violent agitation in the clouds had indeed been before observed in the western quarter;
but now from a rising ground, it displayed itself in its full extent, replete with undescribable
horror A black column from the earth to the cloud, of about thirty rods diameter, so thick that
the eye could not pervade it, whirled with amazing velocity and a most tremendous roar it
appeared luminous and ignited, and was charged with broken pieces of fences, and huge limbs
of trees, which were continually crashing against each other in the air, or tumbling to the
ground.

This appearance continued but a few moments, when the column instantly divided horizon tally
at a small distance from the earth the upper part appearing to rise, while the lower-part
exhibited the appearance which a huge body of thick smoak would do were it dashed by a
strong vertical wind, spreading itself to the extent of sixty or eighty rods. At once you might
observe it, at a small distance forward, apparently burst from the ground, like the thickest
smoak, spread the above distance on its surface, then whirl and contract itself to the size of the
column I now described; but in no instance did the cloud appear to stoop towards the earth. In
this manner it appeared, with longer or shorter intervals of the compact column, during the
whole space in which I have been able to collect accurate information; with this exception only,
that in the eastermost part of the observed space, for a considerable distance, it was not seen
to be luminous or ignited; tho each described its bursting from the earth, as giving them the
idea of fire, which they really supposed. until after it was past, consuming every thing in its way.
It moved in a direction, when first noticed, some what to the northward of east, but soon
changed to nearly east. "

From 1748 to 1782: A time for tornadoes

The American 1700s usually bring thoughts of colonial times, the French and Indian War, etc.
However many notable tornadoes were recorded during this time. In July 1748 one of these
notable tornadoes made its course through Groton (now Pepperell), Massachusetts. This
tornado dubbed the Pepperell Tornado was reported to have torn up large trees by their roots
and carried them a large distance from the place they started. This tornado entirely demolished
three buildings, removed roofs from many other buildings, and lifted structures off of their
foundations and moved them a few feet away. According to the accounts given no lives were
lost, but large damage was made leaving these poor people to clean up the Pepperell Tornados
aftermath.

At Leicester, Massachusetts, on July 10, 1759, a tornado passed through. This tornado, or as
John Winthrop (a direct descendant of Governor Winthrop) called it a terrible
whirlwind moved along form southwest to northwest. The tornado tore many trees up from
their roots and proceeded toward the house of a man named David Lynde. The tornado was
apparently strong enough to do massive damage to this house. Fourteen people occupied the
house at the time the tornado struck and one man even lost his life. He was in the west-
chamber of the house and was thrown a great distance. When he was found his back, thighs,
and arms were broken and he soon passed away. An amazing story was told of one child in the
house that was next to a chimney when the tornado hit. The chimney collapsed on the child but
a board that was wedged over her protected her form being killed by the chimney ruins. After
reporting about this tornado John Winthrop tried to figure out what caused these terrible
whirlwinds. He said concerning the reasoning behind tornadoes It appears to me so difficult to
assign a cause adequate to these effects, to show by what means a small body of air could be
put into a circular motion, so exceedingly rapid as this must have been, that I dare not venture
any conjectures about it.Obviously at this time no one understood the mystery behind
tornadoes.

On August 14, 1773 the first instrumental documentation of a tornado occurred in America.
Prof. Samuel Williams documented this tornado, which formed as a waterspout on the
Merrimac River south of Salisbury. This waterspout moved northwestward and came on land at
Amesbury point. Samuel Williams recorded that before the waterspout appeared in just a
period of about 4 minutes the wind blew violently southwest and then suddenly blew west-
northwest. After blowing this direction for a couple of minutes the wind died down completely
and it became still. After these sudden wind changes it became very dark and the waterspout
began its life. When it came onto land at Amesbury it leveled well built houses. Although it
destroyed many houses and buildings and threw things thither and yon no one was killed. It was
reported that the number of buildings damaged was about 120.

In the year 1782 tornadoes erupted in the month of May. On May 23 a violent tornado hit
Berkshire County, Massachusetts. It tore trees out of the ground and moved a two-story house
from its foundation. Another house was moved about 20 feet. Both of these houses were
completely destroyed. Also on May 23 in Vermont a tornado spread destruction through
Manchester where it did great damage to grain buildings. On another date in May 1782 a
tornado hit New Hampshire. This tornado destroyed fields of grain before coming to buildings
that it demolished. It is reported that every barn or building that stood in its way was
completely leveled. One man, Mr. Spencer, tried to escape his house before the tornado hit. He
grabbed his daughter and he and his wife tried to hurry out. However it was too late. The
tornado hit and they were buried in the rubble. The poor child died in the mans arms. He
however was not injured. His wife was injured, but not critically.
In 2007 an interesting story developed in Jennings Louisiana where a person was
crossing a street to go to work when something dropped from the sky. This was not a chicken
little story, the sky wasn't falling, but it was something very strange. It was worms and many of
them. Others checked out the strange event and sure enough worms were falling from the sky.
What seems to be a mystery may well be easily explained by the report that there was a water
spout reported in the area around the Lacassine Bayou at the same time. Umbrellas are usually
made for rain, I wonder, do they make umbrellas for worms too?

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that rotates while in contact with both the surface
of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are
often referred to as twisters or cyclones,[1] although the word cyclone is used in meteorology to
name any closed low pressure circulation. Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes, but they
are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel, whose narrow end touches the earth
and is often encircled by a cloud of debris and dust. Most tornadoes have wind speeds less than
110 miles per hour (180 km/h), are about 250 feet (80 m) across, and travel a few miles (several
kilometers) before dissipating. The most extreme tornadoes can attain wind speeds of more
than 300 miles per hour (480 km/h), are more than two miles (3 km) in diameter, and stay on
the ground for dozens of miles (more than 100 km).[2][3][4]

Various types of tornadoes include the landspout, multiple vortex tornado, and waterspout.
Waterspouts are characterized by a spiraling funnel-shaped wind current, connecting to a large
cumulus or cumulonimbus cloud. They are generally classified as non-supercellulartornadoes
that develop over bodies of water, but there is disagreement over whether to classify them as
true tornadoes. These spiraling columns of air frequently develop in tropical areas close to
the equator, and are less common at high latitudes.[5] Other tornado-like phenomena that exist
in nature include the gustnado, dust devil, fire whirls, and steam devil; downbursts are
frequently confused with tornadoes, though their action is dissimilar.
Tornadoes have been observed and documented on every continent except Antarctica.
However, the vast majority of tornadoes occur in the Tornado Alley region of the United States,
although they can occur nearly anywhere in North America.[6] They also occasionally occur in
south-central and eastern Asia, northern and east-central South America, Southern Africa,
northwestern and southeast Europe, western and southeastern Australia, and New Zealand.
[7]
Tornadoes can be detected before or as they occur through the use of Pulse-Doppler radar by
recognizing patterns in velocity and reflectivity data, such as hook echoes or debris balls, as well
as through the efforts ofstorm spotters.

There are several scales for rating the strength of tornadoes. The Fujita scale rates tornadoes by
damage caused and has been replaced in some countries by the updated Enhanced Fujita Scale.
An F0 or EF0 tornado, the weakest category, damages trees, but not substantial structures. An
F5 or EF5 tornado, the strongest category, rips buildings off their foundations and can deform
large skyscrapers. The similarTORRO scale ranges from a T0 for extremely weak tornadoes to
T11 for the most powerful known tornadoes.[8] Doppler radar data,photogrammetry, and
ground swirl patterns (cycloidal marks) may also be analyzed to determine intensity and assign a
rating

The most extreme tornado in recorded history was the Tri-State Tornado, which spread through
parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana on March 18, 1925. It is considered an F5, though
tornadoes were not ranked on any scale in that era. It holds records for longest path length at
219 mi (352 km), longest duration at about 3 hours, and fastest forward speed for a significant
tornado at 73 miles per hour (117 kilometres per hour) anywhere on Earth. In addition, it is the
deadliest single tornado in United States history (695 dead). [1] It was also the third-costliest
tornado in history at the time, but has been surpassed by several others non-normalized. When
costs are normalized for wealth and inflation, it still ranks third today. [2]

The deadliest tornado in world history was the DaulatpurSaturia tornado in Bangladesh on
April 26, 1989, which killed approximately 1,300 people. [3] Bangladesh has had at least 19
tornadoes in its history kill more than 100 people, almost half of the total for the rest of the
world.

For 37 years, the most extensive tornado outbreak on record, in almost every category, was
the 1974 Super Outbreak, which affected a large area of the central United States and extreme
southern Ontario in Canada on April 3 and April 4, 1974. Not only did this outbreak feature 148
tornadoes in only 18 hours, but an unprecedented number of them were violent; 7 were of F5
intensity and 23 were F4. During the peak of this outbreak there were 16 tornadoes on the
ground at the same time. More than 300 people, possibly as many as 330, were killed by
tornadoes during this outbreak. However, this record was later broken during the 2011 Super
Outbreak, which resulted in 362 tornadoes and 324 tornadic fatalities.[4]
The 2011 Super Outbreak was the most prolific tornado outbreak in United States history. It
produced 362 tornadoes, with 218 of those in a single 24-hour period on April 27, [5] including 11
EF4 and 4 EF5 tornadoes. Three hundred and forty-eight deaths occurred in that outbreak, of
which 324 were tornado related. The outbreak helped smash the record for most tornadoes in
the month of April with 772 tornadoes, almost triple the prior record (267 in April 1974). The
overall record for a single month was 542 in May 2003, which was also broken. [6]

The infamous 1974 Super Outbreak of April 34, 1974, which spawned 148 confirmed
tornadoes across eastern North America, held the record for the most prolific tornado outbreak
for many years. Not only did it produce an exceptional number of tornadoes, but it was also an
inordinately intense outbreak producing dozens of large, long-track tornadoes, including 7 F5
and 23 F4 tornadoes. More significant tornadoes occurred within 24 hours than any other week
in the tornado record.[7] Due to a secular trend in tornado reporting, the 2011 and 1974 tornado
counts are not directly comparable.

Most tornado outbreaks in North America occur in the spring, but there is a secondary peak of
tornado activity in the fall which is less consistent but can include exceptionally large and/or
intense outbreaks. In 1992, an estimated 95 tornadoes broke out in a record 41 hours of
continuous tornado activity from November 21 to 23. This is also among the largest-known
outbreaks in areal expanse. Many other very large outbreaks have occurred in autumn,
especially in October and November.[1]

The greatest number of tornadoes spawned from a hurricane is 118 from Hurricane Ivan in
2004.[8] Caution is advised comparing the raw number of counted tornadoes from recent
decades to decades prior to the 1990s since more tornadoes that occur are now recorded than
in the past.

During the F5 1999 Bridge CreekMoore tornado on May 3, 1999, a Doppler on Wheels situated
near the tornado measured winds of 301 20 mph (484 32 km/h) momentarily in a small area
inside the funnel approximately 100 m (330 ft) above ground level.[13] These are also the highest
wind speeds observed on Earth.

On May 31, 2013, a tornado hit rural areas near El Reno, Oklahoma. The tornado was originally
rated as an EF3 based on damage; however, after mobile radar data analysis was conducted, it
was concluded to have an EF5 due to a measured wind speed of greater than 295 mph
(475 km/h), second only to the Bridge Creek - Moore tornado. Revised RaXPol analysis found
winds of 302 mph (486 km/h) well above ground level and 291 mph (468 km/h) below 10 m
(33 ft) with some subvortices moving at 175 mph (282 km/h).[14] These winds may possibly be as
high or higher than the winds recorded on May 3, 1999. Despite the recorded windspeed, the El
Reno tornado was later downgraded back to EF3 due to the fact that no EF5 damage was found,
likely due to the lack of sufficient damage indicators.[15][16]

Winds were measured at 257268 mph (414431 km/h) using portable Doppler radar in
the Red Rock, Oklahoma tornado during the April 26, 1991 tornado outbreak. Though these
winds are possibly indicative of an F5 strength tornado, this particular tornado's path never
encountered any significant structures and caused minimal damage. Thus it was rated an F4. [17]

Longest damage path and duration[edit]

The longest-known track for a single tornado is the Tri-State Tornado with a path length of 151
to 235 mi (243 to 378 km). For years there was debate whether the originally recognized path
length of 219 mi (352 km) over 3.5 hours was from one tornado or a series. Some very long
track (VLT) tornadoes were later determined to be successive tornadoes spawned by the same
supercell thunderstorm, which are known as a tornado family. The Tri-State Tornado, however,
appeared to have no gaps in the damage. A six-year reanalysis study by a team of severe
convective storm meteorologists found insufficient evidence to make firm conclusions but does
conclude that it is likely that the beginning and ending of the path was resultant of separate
tornadoes comprising a tornado family. It also found that the tornado began 15 mi (24 km) to
the west and ended 1 mi (1.6 km) farther east than previously known, bringing the total path to
235 mi (378 km). The 174 mi (280 km) segment from central Madison County, Missouri to Pike
County, Indiana is likely one continuous tornado and the 151 mi (243 km) segment from
central Bollinger County, Missouri to western Pike County, Indiana is very likely a single
continuous tornado. Another significant tornado was found about 65 mi (105 km) east-
northeast of the end of aforementioned segment(s) of the Tri-State Tornado Family and is likely
another member of the family. Its path length of 20 mi (32 km) over about 20 minutes makes
the known tornado family path length total to 320 mi (510 km) over about 5 hours.
[18]
Grazulis in 2001 wrote that the first 60 mi (97 km) of the (originally recognized) track is
probably the result of two or more tornadoes and that a path length of 157 mi (253 km) was
seemingly continuous.[19]

Longest path and duration tornado family[edit]

What at one time was thought to be the record holder for the longest tornado path is now
thought to be the longest tornado family, with a track of at least 293 miles (472 km) on May 26,
1917 from the Missouri border across Illinois into Indiana. It caused severe damage and mass
casualties in Charleston and Mattoon, Illinois.[1]

What was probably the longest track supercell thunderstorm tracked 790 miles (1,270 km)
across 6 states in 17.5 hours on March 12, 2006 as part of the March 2006 tornado outbreak
sequence. It began in Noble County, Oklahoma and ended in Jackson County, Michigan,
producing many tornadoes in Missouri and Illinois.[20]

Largest path width[edit]

Officially, the widest tornado on record is the El Reno, Oklahoma tornado of May 31, 2013 with
a width of 2.6 miles (4.2 km) at its peak. This is the width found by the National Weather Service
based on preliminary data from University of Oklahoma RaxPol mobile radar that also sampled
winds of 296 mph (476 km/h) which was used to upgrade the tornado to EF5.[21]However, it was
revealed that these winds did not impact any structures, and as a result the tornado was
downgraded to EF3 based on damage.[22] However, another possible contender for the widest
tornado as measured by radar was the F4 Mulhall tornado in north-central Oklahoma which
occurred during the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak. The diameter of the maximum
winds (over 110 mph (49 m/s)) was over 5,200 feet (1,600 m) as measured by a DOW radar.
Although the tornado passed largely over rural terrain, the width of the wind swath capable of
producing damage was as wide as 4 mi (6.4 km).[23][24]

The F4 Hallam, Nebraska tornado during the outbreak of May 22, 2004 was the previous official
record holder for the widest tornado, surveyed at 2.5 miles (4.0 km) wide. A similar size tornado
struck Edmonson, Texas on May 31, 1968, when a damage path width between 2 to 3 miles (3.2
to 4.8 km) was recorded from an F3 tornado.[25]

Highest forward speed[edit]

Seventy-three miles per hour (117 km/h) from the Tri-State Tornado (other weak tornadoes
have approached or exceeded this speed, but this is the fastest forward movement observed in
a major tornado).[1]

Greatest pressure drop[edit]

A pressure deficit of 100 millibars (2.95 inHg) was observed when a

violent tornado near Manchester, South Dakota on June 24, 2003 passed directly over an in-
situ probe that storm chasing researcher Tim Samaras deployed.[26] In less than a minute, the
pressure dropped to 850 millibars (25.10 inHg), which are the greatest pressure decline and the
lowest pressure ever recorded at the Earth's surface when adjusted to sea level.[27][28]

On April 21, 2007, a 194-millibar (5.73 inHg) pressure deficit was reported when
a tornado struck a storm chasing vehicle in Tulia, Texas.[29] The tornado caused EF2 damage as it
passed through Tulia. The reported pressure drop far exceeds that which would be expected
based on theoretical calculations.[30]
There is a questionable and unofficial citizen's barometer measurement of a 192-millibar
(5.67 inHg) drop around Minneapolis in 1904.[31]

Early tornadoes[edit]

Earliest-known tornado in Europe[edit]

The earliest recorded tornado in Europe struck Rosdalla, near Kilbeggan, Ireland on April
30, 1054. The earliest-known British tornado hit central London on October 23, 1091 and
wasespecially destructive.[32]

Earliest-known tornado in the Americas[edit]

An apparent tornado is recorded to have struck Tlatelolco (present day Mexico City), on
August 21, 1521, two days before the Aztec capital's fall to Corts. Many other
tornadoes are documented historically within the Basin of Mexico.[33]

First confirmed tornado and first tornado fatality in present-day United States[edit]

August 1671 - Rehoboth, Massachusetts[34][35]

July 8, 1680 - Cambridge, Massachusetts - 1 dead[1][36]

Exceptional tornado droughts[edit]

Longest span without a tornado rated F5 or EF5

Before the Greensburg EF5 tornado on May 4, 2007, it had been 8 years and one day since the
US had had a confirmed F5 or EF5 tornado. The last confirmed F5 or EF5 hit southernOklahoma
City and surrounding communities during the May 3, 1999 event. This is the longest interval
without an F5 or EF5 tornado since official records began in 1950.

Exceptional survivors

Longest distance carried by a tornado

Matt Suter of Fordland, Missouri holds the record for the longest-known distance traveled by
anyone picked up by a tornado who lived to tell about it. On March 12, 2006 he was carried
1,307 feet (398 m), 13 feet (4.0 m) shy of one-quarter mile (400 m), according to National
Weather Service measurements.[37][38]

Codell, Kansas

The small town of Codell, Kansas, was hit by a tornado on the same date (May 20) three
consecutive years: 1916, 1917, and 1918. [39][40] The U.S. has about 100,000 thunderstorms a
year; less than one percent produce a tornado. The odds of this coincidence occurring again is
extremely small.

Tanner/Harvest, Alabama[edit]

Tanner, a small town in northern Alabama, was hit by an F5 tornado on April 3, 1974 and was
struck again 45 minutes later by a second F5 (however, the rating is disputed and it may have
been high-end F4), demolishing what remained of the town. Thirty-seven years later, on April
27, 2011 (the largest and deadliest outbreak since 1974), Tanner was hit yet again by the
EF52011 HackleburgPhil Campbell, Alabama tornado, which produced high-end EF4 damage in
the southern portion of town. The suburban community of Harvest, Alabama, just to the
northeast, also sustained major impacts from all three Tanner tornadoes, and was also hit by
destructive tornadoes in 1995 and 2012.

Moore, Oklahoma[edit]

The Oklahoma City suburb of Moore was hit by devastating tornadoes in

1973, 1999, 2003, 2010, and 2013, five of which were of F4/EF4 strength or greater, although it
was determined that the tornado in 2003 caused no F4 damage within Moore itself, but in areas
to its northeast. The 1999 and 2013 events were rated F5 and EF5, respectively. In total, about
23 tornadoes have struck within the immediate vicinity of Moore since 1890, the most recent of
which was an EF2 on March 25, 2015.[41]

Jackson, Tennessee[edit]

The city of Jackson, Tennessee has been hit by an F4/EF4 tornado three separate times,
in 1999, 2003, and 2008. Interestingly, all three of these tornadoes occurred after dark and were
preceded or followed by a separate F3/EF3 tornado that caused additional destruction in the
Jackson area.

Storm chasers have identified a number of other types of tornadoes, in addition to the supercell
tornado. Ernie Agee and a collaborator at Purdue recently have proposed taxonomy of tornado
types. One of the most significant types other than the most commonly documented supercell
tornado, is the non-mesocyclone tornado: some of them the author called landspouts, owing
to their similarity to Florida waterspouts. Other non-mesocyclone tornadoes that occur along
the leading edge of gust fronts are called gustnadoes, a term first used by storm chasers.
Many studies were conducted in the mid and late 1980s in eastern Colorado, especially during
CINDE. Jim Wilson at NCAR, Roger Wakimoto at UCLA, and other colleagues at NCAR (e.g., Rita
Roberts), NOAA (Ed Szoke), and U. Wyoming (Brooks Martner) published a series of papers on
observational studies using fixed-site Doppler radars; most of the studies were based on single
Doppler radar, while one on 15 June 1988 in the Denver area was based on dual-Doppler
measurements. Roger Wakimoto did a detailed study combining photographs with Doppler
radar data. It should be noted that Fred Bates from St. Louis University in the early and mid-
1960s discussed what may have been similar tornadoes observed from aircraft.
Nonmesocyclone tornadoes were successfully simulated and studied by Bruce Lee and Bob
Wilhelmson at the Univ. of Illinois. It is now understood that non-mesocyclone tornadoes
develop from vorticity along preexisting boundaries. Tornadoes and misocyclones have also
been reported in quasi-linear convective systems (QLCSs). Interestingly, it was thought in the
1940s that squall lines were responsible for tornadoes, but later studies pointed to the
importance of isolated cells or cells embedded in lines prior to their evolution into squall lines.
Weve come full circle: Tornadoes were documented by Rit Carbone in a study of a California
rainband in the early 1980s and by Greg Forbes and Roger Wakimoto, then at the Univ. of
Chicago, in a study of a bow echo in Illinois. Jeff Trapp at Purdue and Morris Weisman
demonstrated in the early 2000s using numerical simulation experiments how strong vortices
could be produced in QLCSs.

The former published a climatology of QLCS tornadoes in 2005. It has been recognized for many
years that tornadoes can also appear in tropical cyclones, especially when they make landfall.
Novlan and Gray in 1974 produced a seminal climatology of these tornadoes. Bill McCaul at OU
studied tornadoes in Hurricane Danny in 1985 and in 1991 published a study of the composite
environment of hurricane tornadoes. More recently, Spratt et al. in 1997 discussed WSR-88D
observations of tropical cyclone tornadoes in Florida and Baker and colleagues studied
tornadoes in Hurricane Ivan over the Gulf in 2004. It appears that the parent storms of many
tornadoes both over the ocean and after landfall are shallow supercells, while others are not
associated with mesocyclones. Perhaps similar to shallow supercells in tropical cyclones are
low-top or minisupercells, sometimes observed near upper-level cyclones, where the
tropopause is low, but vertical shear is strong. Cooley in 1978 described cold-air funnels that
also occur near upper-level cyclones. Tornadoes have been classified not only according to how
and where they form, but by their sense of rotation. It was recognized long ago that anticyclonic
rotation in tornadoes is rare. Based on visual documentation of one in Iowa on 13 June 1976 by
John Brown and Kevin Knupp, one near Grand Island, NE on 3 June 1980 by Ted Fujita, one near
Geary, OK on 29 May 2004 and one near El Reno, OK on 24 April 2006 by the author and his
students, it is now recognized that when they are observed they often occur in conjunction with
another nearby cyclonic tornado.

In 1987 Wes Unruh at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and I repeated the Smith and Holmes
1958 experiment, this time using a battery-powered, portable, CW/FM-CW, X-band, Doppler
adapted also for applications not originally intended for the original instrument. We used this
radar up to the first year of VORTEX to acquire close-range Doppler wind spectra in tornadoes.
In a series of papers in the early - mid 1990s, we verified F-5 wind speeds in a tornado near Red
Rock, OK on 26 April 1991 and determined wind spectra as a function of range with 78 m range
resolution, near Northfield, TX on 25 May 1994. This radar, however, had a relatively broad
beamwidth of 50 and was steerable only by hand, and not automatically scanned. While Bob
Crane at OU suggested mounting an old, Ka-band radar on a truck and having automatic
scanning, I chose to use a scanning W-band radar from the Microwave Remote Sensing
Laboratory at the Univ. of Massachusetts in Amherst, under the supervision of Bob McIntosh,
because a very narrow beam antenna could easily be mounted on a small truck. The first system
was developed by Andy Pazmany and first used in 1993 with a 0.60 (halfpower) beam. We
collected fine-scale data along gust fronts and wall clouds, but not in a tornado until VORTEX
during year 1 on 25 May 1994. Alas, while scanning the nearby tornado the system failed owing
to an incorrectly made electrical connection. It was not until the 1999 storm season that an
updated system with a larger antenna having a 0.180 beam was used and tornadoes on 3 May
near Verden, OK, 15 May near Stockton, KS, and 5 June near Bassett, NE, at close range were
probed, at one elevation angle and data successfully recorded. Significant datasets were also
collected on 5 May 2002 near Happy, TX and 12 May 2004 near Attica, KS, when high-resolution,
vertical cross sections through and surrounding the weak-echo hole were obtained. In addition,
measurements showing the vertical variation of Doppler velocity near the ground were made
near the tornado core. Wen-Chau Lees GBVTD algorithm was implemented. In addition,
horizontal-vortex shear signatures were found along the edge of the tornado. The first proposal
to use airborne Doppler radars to map the wind field in convective storms was made by Roger
Lhermitte in 1971. He proposed using two aircraft, each having its own radar, flying at
perpendicular flight paths to collect dual-Doppler data.

Airborne, X-band Doppler radars were used by NOAA beginning in the 1980s to map the winds
in hurricanes. The first supercell probed by one of the NOAA P-3 airborne radars was on 27 May
1985, near Oklahoma City, during PRE-STORM, through the collaboration of Dave Jorgensen of
NOAA and Peter Ray of NSSL. For this case, dualDoppler analyses were synthesized using data
from the airborne radar and data separately from each of the two NSSL ground-based, fixed-
site, S-band Doppler radars. The radar-equipped aircraft flew by supercells again, under the
leadership of Dave Jorgensen from NOAA, in the spring of 1991, this time using FAST (fore-aft
scanning technique), for which only one aircraft was needed to collect pseudo-dualDoppler
data.

The first chance to collect data in a tornadic supercell came during COPS-91, on 26 April, but the
aircraft could not fly owing to a mechanical problem. Later in the season, successful data were
collected in supercells for the first time. David Dowell at OU and collaborators published the first
analyses of these supercells in 1997. During VORTEX, late in the season of 1994 and on many
occasions in 1995, excellent datasets were collected. In the latter year the NOAA P-3 was joined
by NCARs ELDORA, which made use of frequency hopping to increase the number of
independent samples and reduce the time for getting Doppler velocity measurements having
acceptably small errors as the aircraft flew rapidly by the targeted storm. The design of ELDORA
was a collaboration between Peter Hildebrand at NCAR and colleagues and collaborators from
France. The airborne field experiment using ELDORA was led by Roger Wakimoto. In 1994 the
Newcastle, TX tornadic storm was probed on 29 May, and in 1995 the Garden City, KS tornadic
storm was documented on 17 May, the Dimmitt and Friona, TX tornadic storms were probed on
2 June, and the McLean, TX cyclic tornadic storm was probed on 8 June.

A number of significant papers by Roger Wakimoto and his students were published, along with
others by David Dowell and me, Conrad Ziegler at NSSL and his collaborators, and Erik
Rasmussen and Jerry Straka. During year 2 of VORTEX, Josh Wurman at OU and collaborators at
OU, NSSL, and NCAR, developed the first truck-mounted Xband Doppler radar, the Doppler on
Wheels (DOW) and successfully collected data in a tornado in the Garden City storm on 17 May
1995. Subsequently data were collected in tornadoes on 2 June. Since then data collection
efforts using the DOW and future generations of DOWS have been very successful.

The first mobile, dual-Doppler dataset for a tornadic supercell was collected by two DOWs in
eastern Oklahoma, near Kiefer and Glenpool, on 27 May 1997, but at low elevation angle only.
Volumetric mobile dualDoppler data were first collected successfully near Bridgeport, NE on 20
May 1998. Since then, Mike Biggerstaff at OU has used two mobile C-band radars, the SMART-
Rs, to collect mobile dual-Doppler data on a tornadic supercell near Geary, OK on 29 May 2004,
an effort which was reported by MacGorman et al. in 2008. A significant single-Doppler dataset
was collected by a DOW in Spencer, SD on 30 May 1998; the tornado damage path was
correlated with the Doppler wind data by Josh Wurman and his student, Curtis Alexander. Data
from the Spencer storm exhibited multiple vortices, as did DOW data from the Mulhall, OK
tornado on 3 May 1999.

The highest wind speeds in a tornado ever recorded (135 m s-1 ) were made by a DOW in
Bridgecreek, OK on 3 May 1999. Double gust front structure was documented near Crowell, TX
on 30 April 2000. WenChau Lee and Josh Wurman deduced 3-D tornado structure in the Mulhall
tornado using the formers GBVTD analysis technique. To date, successive generations of DOWs
have been used to probe hundreds of tornadoes and have facilitated a climatology of various
tornado parameters. A poor-persons version of the DOW was built at the Univ. of Mass. at
Amherst and first used in 2001 for surveillance of reflectivity only. The radar system was based
on a commercially available marine radar. In 2002, both Doppler and polarimetric capabilities
became available
During IHOP, in 2002, another DOW having polarimetric capability, which had been built by Josh
Wurman for the government of Greece, but not used to detect tornadoes, was used in the field.
The UMass X-band radar became known as the UMass X-Pol to distinguish itself from the Greek-
govt radar. Early work with a fixed-site, S-band, polarimetric Doppler radar at NSSL (KOUN) by
Alexander Ryzhkov, and collaborators demonstrated that a tornado debris signature could be
detected (most clearly evident as a region of low hv). The first case reported was in a tornadic
storm near Oklahoma City on 3 May 1999. Since IHOP, the most significant datasets collected by
the UMass X-Pol were on 12 May 2004 near Attica, KS, when a tornado debris signature was
clearly detected at close range along with visual documentation, and on 7 May 2007, when the
formation of the Greensburg, KS tornadic supercell was documented. Because tornadoes evolve
on very fast time scales (~ 10 s or less), rapid-scan radars have been developed. Josh Wurman
and colleagues at NCAR developed the rapid-DOW, which first scanned a tornado in 9 June 2005
in Kansas.

The rapid-DOW is an X-band, Doppler radar that scans mechanically in azimuth, but in
electronically in elevation at six different angles, by changing frequency. The MWR-05XP is a
mobile, X-band, phased-array, Doppler radar that ProSensing, Inc. in Amherst, MA adapted for
meteorological use from a military phasedarray radar acquired by the Naval Postgraduate
School in Monterey, CA. Both the rapid DOW and the MWR-05XP can scan sector volumes of
storms in 10 s or less; the latter is faster and can scan more elevation angles nearly
simulatneously, but the former has finer azimuthal resolution. The MWR-05XP first successfully
scanned a tornado on 23 May 2008 in Kansas.

The history of tornado research consists of a series of both serendipitous and planned
observations and measurements, numerical studies with idealized models, laboratory-vortex
experiments, and numerical simulations. Observations have improved in step with advances in
technology, most prominently with increasingly more sophisticated radar systems. Numerical
simulations have improved with increased computer power, speed, and storage capabilities.
Soon we will be able to analyze convective storms simulated with ultra-fine spatial resolution so
that the tornado and its parent storm are both resolved adequately (on scales < 10 m). When
we finally are able to do controlled experiments and resolve all features adequately, then what?
Will the simulations be too complex to advance our understanding easily? Soon we will have
observations that document tornadoes in the act of forming along with all that goes on in the
parent storm, using rapid-scan (via mechanically scanning, phased-array, or imaging
techniques), and fine-scale, polarimetric Doppler radar measurements. Will these observations
be adequate to advance our physical understanding, or will complexity again hinder us? We
cannot do controlled experiments in the atmosphere. Finally, can we address what is cause and
what is effect when processes are detected nearly simultaneously? This and the
aforementioned questions are our challenges for the future.
The most tornadoes in one year occurred in 2003, when 1,376 tornadoes were reported. 2003
also brought the highest number of tornadoes in a ten-day period (May 1st through May 10th):
412. May 2003 also tripled the average number of tornadoes for the month with a total of 543
tornadoes, compared to an average May total of 180. The Tri-State Tornado of March 18, 1925
claimed the most lives of any single tornado, killing 689 people in 3 hours on its 219-mile long
track. This tornado also was the third-fastest tornado on record, traveling at nearly 60 miles per
hour. The most tornado deaths in one year following the inception of official severe weather
forecasting by Air Force officials in 1951 occurred in 1953, when 519 people died from 422
tornadoes. Three of most deadly tornadoes of all time occurred in this year in three different
places: Flint, MI; Waco, TX; and Worchester, MA.

The costliest tornado in history occurred on May 3rd, 1999, when an F5 tornado devastated the
Oklahoma City, OK suburb of Moore. This tornado caused more than $1 billion dollars in
damage. The most tornadoes occurring over a period of time occurred on April 3rd and 4th,
1974. This tornado outbreak, known as the Super Outbreak, produced 148 tornadoes in less
than 24 hours from Michigan to Alabama. Several cities in this outbreak were hit twice from
separate tornadoes, including Harvest, AL, which experienced an F5 tornado at 7:15 pm and an
F4 tornado at 7:45 pm. The next page shows the Fujita-Pearson Scale, a scale devised to
determine estimated wind speeds.

1840 May 7: Natchez, MS A tornado ravaged the heart of the city, killing 317 and injuring over
1,000. The northern and central portions of the city were destroyed. 269 people perished on
riverboats on the Mississippi River. 1896 May 27: St. Louis, MO A tornado moved into St. Louis
and East St. Louis, killing 255 people and injuring over 1,000. Damage estimates were around
$10 million from this tornado. The tornado and accompanying microburst winds spanned a mile
wide. 1899 June 12: New Richmond, WI A tornado struck around 4:30 pm while people were
attending an outdoor circus. 114 people were killed, but due to the high visibility of the
tornado, most were able to take shelter. Over 300 buildings were destroyed in the town. 1908
April 24: Purvis, MS The majority of the town of Purvis, MS was leveled as a tornado moved
from Amite, LA into Purvis. 55 people died as a result of this tornado in Purvis alone.

People reported that the tornado was 2 miles wide at times. 1925 March 18: Ellington, MO to
Princeton, IN The Tri-State Tornado is the most deadly single tornado in history. Murphysboro,
Illinois was the hardest hit by the tornado, where 234 lives were claimed. Several cities in the
tornados path were obliterated, including: Annapolis, MO; Gorham, IL; Parrish, IL; and Griffin,
IN. 1936 April 6: Gainesville, GA A pair of tornadoes converged inside the city on the morning of
April 6th, 1936. 203 people were killed and most of the citys buildings lay in ruins. Damage
estimates from the tornado were around $12.5 million. 1947 April 9: Woodward, OK An F5
tornado moved through the northern portions of Woodward, OK. Over 100 city blocks were
demolished from the tornado and over 1,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. 107 people
were killed, 1,000 people were injured, and over $6 million in damage occurred. 1953 May 11:
Waco, TX 114 people died when an F5 tornado moved through downtown Waco, TX. A six-story
brick furniture store was destroyed. The main street was filled with bricks from the building, in
some instances nearly five feet deep. Some people were buried under brick for nearly 14 hours.
1953 June 8: Flint, MI Over $19 million in damage occurred as an F5 tornado moved through the
northern sections of Flint, MI. 115 people were killed and 844 were injured. This tornado was
the last single tornado through March 2002 to cause more than 100 deaths.

1955 May 25: Udall, KS An F5 tornado moved into the small community of Udall, KS. 80 people
were killed and 270 injured. Over half the population of Udall was killed or injured by this
tornado. Over $2 million in damage occurred in Udall. A large portion of the town was
completely destroyed. 1965 April 11-12: WI, IL, IA, MI, IN, OH Known as the Palm Sunday
Outbreak, 51 tornadoes occurred in the Midwest, killing 258 people and injuring more than
3,100. 19 tornadoes in this outbreak were of F4 or F5 intensity, with the strongest tornadoes
occurring in Elkhart, IN and Strongsville, OH. Damage estimates were over $200 million for the
event. 1974 April 3-4: MI, IL, IN, OH, KY, TN, AL, GA, WV, NC, SC The Super Outbreak of 1974
produced the most tornadoes in a 24-hour period in history (148). The most famous tornado
from this outbreak was an F5 tornado that moved through Xenia, Ohio. Damages in Xenia alone
totaled over $100 million. Total damages from the outbreak exceeded $600 million. 1979 April
10: Wichita Falls, TX $400 million in damage occurred when an F4 tornado moved through
Wichita Falls. Nearly 3,100 homes were destroyed and about 20,000 people were left homeless.
42 people were killed and 1,740 were injured. 1984 June 8: Barneveld, WI An F5 tornado struck
around 1 a.m. in the small community of Barneveld, WI. Nine people were killed, 197 were
injured, and 90% of the community was destroyed. Over $40 million in damage was caused
from this tornado. 1991 April 26: Wichita/Andover, KS An F5 tornado tore through portions of
south Wichita, KS. It then moved into Andover, an eastern suburb of Wichita. The tornado killed
13 people in the Golden Spur Mobile Home Park. The tornado came within 1,000 FT of a fleet of
parked B-1 bombers, 2 of which were loaded with nuclear warheads. Total damage was $262
million. 1997 May 27: Jarrell, TX 29 people died and $20 million in damage occurred when an F5
tornado moved through the small Texas community of Jarrell. The tornado hit at 3:45 pm and
was so strong that it ripped pavement from roadways. 1999 January 21: Little Rock, AR A rare
tornado outbreak in January brought more than 30 tornadoes to Arkansas. One of the
tornadoes, an F3 on the Fujita Scale, moved into the northern portions of Little Rock. One
person was killed. Damage estimates from the tornado outbreak were at $1.3 billion. 1999 May
3: Bridge Creek/Moore, OK The strongest tornado ever recorded moved through the Oklahoma
City suburbs of Bridge Creek and Moore in the late afternoon hours. This tornado killed 38
people and injured hundreds. A total of 69 tornadoes occurred from this outbreak. The
tornados path was judged to be more than a mile wide at times. A Doppler radar On Wheels
(DOW) team measured a 318 mph wind speed in this tornado, the highest measured wind
speed ever recorded within a tornado. The National Weather Service was able to give Moore
residents 35 minutes warning lead time on this tornado. Total damages exceeded $1.1 billion.

1999 May 3: Haysville/Wichita, KS An F4 tornado moved into the southern suburbs of Wichita,
KS in the evening. 6 people died, 150 were injured, and over $150 million of damage occurred.
South Wichita residents were given 30 minutes warning lead time on this tornado. This tornado
was part of the outbreak that produced the Moore, OK tornado. 2001 April 21: Hoisington, KS
An F4 tornado moved into the Kansas community of Hoisington. One person was killed, 28
injured, and nearly $43 million in damage was done from this tornado. There was no tornado
warning issued for this community when the tornado struck. Most people were home watching
local TV stations and were told to take cover, even though a tornado warning had not been
issued. 2002 April 28: La Plata, MD An F4 tornado moved through La Plata, MD and killed one
person. The tornado also wiped six homes completely off their foundations. Damage estimates
from this tornado were around $100 million.

Other tornadoes from this storm system occurred in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois,
Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, New York, Iowa, and Ohio. 2002 November 10: Van Wert, OH An
F4 tornado moved through Van Wert, Ohio around 3:30 PM local time, destroying the entire
northwest corner of the city. This tornado was part of one of the largest November tornado
outbreaks in history, with 70 tornadoes occurring within two days. Total damages from the
outbreak totaled $490 million. 2003 May 4 May 11: Plains Into The Southeast A deadly
outbreak of severe weather occurred between May 4th and May 11th, producing hundreds of
tornadoes and widespread reports of large hail and damaging winds across eight states.
Tornadoes affected the metropolitan areas of Kansas City and Oklahoma City, producing F3 and
F4 damage. Other cities including Pierce City, Missouri and Jackson, Tennessee sustained heavy
damage and loss of life. At least 38 people were killed from the outbreak in Kansas, Missouri
and Tennessee. In Oklahoma City, damaging tornadoes occurred on both the 8th and 9th . May
1st through the 11th had more reported tornadoes (412) than any other ten-day period since
records began in 1950. The estimated total damages from this historical outbreak totaled more
than $3.2 billion.
Tornadoes differ in character and in intensity. Although several hypotheses have. been proposed
for their formation, no generally accepted theory has yet been developed /ll. While tornadoes
are associated with convective cells they may occur in a meso-low Wfiich gives them a life span
over many miles, or they may occur as short-lived, numerous cells along a front /27. They may
dip to the ground briefly causing little or no damage, or they may devaSfate everything in the
path killing hundreds of persons and causing property losses in the millions of dollars.
Tornadoes often are associated with other severe storms--wind, hail, heavy rain, and hurricane.
Tornadoes as compared with other meteorological events are of infrequent occurrence. They
usually have narrow paths and are.of short duration. As a result the statistics collected on
tornadoes are based on limited data, especially their meteorological characteristics such as
rotary movement, reduced pressure, and cloud formation. Only a few tornadoes have occurred
where instruments were available to measure perhaps one or two of the elements directly, Only
a few meteorologists or field investigators have actually observed a tornado, The description or
definition of the tornado in the current edition of Circular N follows ~: Description. These storms
occur when meteorological conditions are favorable for intense thunderstorm activity. The
distinguishing feature is the funnel-shaped appendage that hangs from the base of the cloud.
When the vortex is observed to reach the surface, the storm, if over land, iS termed a tornado;
if over water, is termed a waterspout. It is termed a funnel cloud whenever the vortex does not
reach-the surface, or the observer is not sure the vortex reaches the surface, i.e., the same
storm may. be Variously described during its life cycle. In synoptic reports, the term "funnel
cloud" includes tornadoes and waterspouts but not dust devils. This description is the definition
as used by observers at the present time in synoptic observations. Earlier editions of Circular N
had the same definition of the tornado and the waterspout but did not mention funnel clouds /
47 /57. Climatological observers also have the same definition but their instructions-contain no
mention of funnel clouds /G7. Tornadoes .are_ described in a:.n __ early edition of Circular N
177 _in __ a single s_entence: "They are recognized by their characteristic funnel-shaped cloud
and the noise and destruction accompanying them". This edition of Circular N also stated that
"tornadoes are not to be forecast but when reported as occurring on or near an airway this fact
will be stated in the next regular or special forecast". Special observations on tornadoes when
observed within 7 miles of the station were to be reported every 10 minutes. The definition of
the tornado has not varied greatly over the years. In 1906, Bulletin Q carried the following
description /B7: A tornado is properly defined as a violent local storm, in connection with which
is noted a well-defined, pendant funnel shaped cloud, with attendant rotary winds of sufficient
violence to break off and uproot trees, prostrate dwellings or other objects in its immediate
path. In the true tornado there is always unmistakable evidence of the action of violent rotary
winds over a narrow path. In many cases there is also evidence tending to show that the
barometric pressure in the central core of the funnel cloud is extremely low. 3 Henry, one of the
principal scientists .of the Weather Bureau during the early years of the organization as a civilian
agency, summarized tornadoes for 1889-1896 in the 1895-1896 Report of the Chief of the
Weather Bureau /97. In this report he stated thit the chief characteristics of a-tornado are
assumed to be (1) a pendant funnel cloud, and (2) violent rotary winds over a well-marked but
narrow path. He stated that evidences of whirling found in the debris were accepted as
indicating the character of the storm and that it was possible to determine the nature of the
majority of the storms reported. In a few cases the evidence was not conclusive and the
classification of these storms as tornadoes was rejected. This basis for the reporting of
torn_adoes has, as a rule, been continued without change t_o the present time.

The Glossary of Meteorological Terms as Part VIII of Weather Bureau Circular K /I07 in 1938
de1nea the tornado as TOIIOws: Tornado.-1. A violent vortex in the atmosphere, attended by a
pendulous, more or less funnel-shaped cloud. 2. In West Africa, a violent thundersquall. This
Glossary simply defines a waterspout as "A tornadolike vortex and cloud occurring over a body
of water", and does not include a definition for a funnel cloud. A more complete Weather
Glossary was published by the Weather Bureau in 1946 /II7. This Glossary describes a torn.ado
as follows: tornado, n.- 1. A rotary storm, one of the most violent types of storms known, of
small diameter, which.travels across the country and leaves great devastation along a narrow
path; known popularly as a "twister" in the Central United States where it most frequently
occurs and also as a "cyclone".

Its chief characteristics are: (a) Under a heavy cumulonimbus cloud there hangs a funnelshaped
cloud which marks the yortex and, as the storm moves along may or may not touch the earth.
(b) Heavy precipitation and (usually) hail occur, with thunder. In addition to the thunder there is
the roar attending the tornado cloud when it touches the surface. (c) The winds blow spirally
upward around the axis of the tornado cloud; their speeds have never been directly measured,
but have been calculated from their effects to be as high as, or in many instances higher than,
300 miles an hour. The updraft within the funnel cloud may have.a speed of 100 or 200 miles an
hour. (d) The speed of the storm itself in travelling over the earth is comparatively slow--25 to
40 miles an hour; its path is short, averaging about 300 miles. 2. Name given in .West Africa to
the squall which accompanies a thunderstorm. The "300 miles" for the average length of the
tornado path obviously is a misprint. The definition is interesting in that it states that the
"funnel-shaped cloud which -marks- the vortex . . . as the storm moves along, may or may not
touch the earth". The Glossary also defines a funnel cloud stating that "its small end reaches
down toward the earth". The definition of the waterspout recognizes two classes of these one
class being "similar to a tornado in function and aspect".

One of the difficulties in definition of tornadoes has been whether or not to consider funnel
clouds not touching the ground as tornadoes. They generally have not been considered as
tornadoes although at times they have been included in the statistical data. At present they are
not included and tabulations of tornadoes by years beginning in 1916 published in the
Climatological Data, National Summary, annual issues for past several years have a footnote
stat~ng tha~nnel clouds that remained aloft or funnels touching water surfaces are not
included. This problem was recognized at an early date. In 1890 Hazen !I37 stated that while it
was recognized that a funnel shaped cloud that did not reach the earth could "be regarded only
as a seeming tornado yet by some such a cloud is counted as a full-fledged tornado". Although
the definitions of the tornado have generally remained unchanged, other names for the
tornado have been used by the public such as "twister", "cyclone", "hurricane", or "meteor".
Some of these terms are still used by the public despite continued education describing the
differences between the terms. The Weather Bureau, in cooperation with other organizations, is
currently obtaining information, especially on the meteorological aspects of severe local storms,
including tornadoes, in its National Severe Storms Project. This project is discussed in following
section A in Chapter II. Statistical data on tornadoes have been collected by the Weather Burea~
on a more or less systematic basis since 1916. These are discussed in some detail in Section B,
giving the sources of information and bringing out items which would affect the criteria used in
the collection of the data. Although not on a regular basis, much information is available about
tornadoes prior to 1916, especially during the period from about 1880 to 1900. These are
reviewed in Section C. Section D deals with data collected on tornadoes in the individual states.
This gives information supplied by Weather Bureau State Climatologists as a result of a recent
survey and supplemented by a review of summaries published in the Monthly Weather Review.
The reporting of meteorological conditions attending tornadoes has varied from year to year
and is discussed in Section E. Chapter III describes the method of collection of statistical data on
tornadoes used by the climatologists of the Weather Bureau. Some of the shortcomings of this
colleCtion of data are discussed. The reliability of data collected by the Weather Bureau is
discussed in Chapter IV. Although the statistical data have value in that they describe what has
happen.ed with regard to tornado occurrences, there are limitations which are inherent in this
type of data. These limitations are discussed in some detail since they have a direct influence on
any research based on these data. The completeness of data collected, their homogeneity, and
the relative reliability of the several items collected are reviewed. Chapter V summarizes the
meteorological records that have been documented on tornadoes and gives a few conclusions
as a result of the study. 5 . CHAPTER II - SOURCES OF DATA Tornadoes are among the more
spectacular of nature's phenomena. They often have .caused considerable loss of life and much
property damage. As a consequence, many articles have been published about these storms,
and much information has been collected about them. Most of the information about
tornadoes at the present time deals with the basic data as to place, time, and extent of damage.
Brooks /I57 cited Everdingen, a European investigator, in stating that the literature on
.tornadoes in the United States has, for the most part, been confined to compilation of such
statistics as the distribution and frequency of occurrence and description of resulting damage.
The need for data on the meteorological aspects of severe storms, including the tornado, is
recognized by the Weather Bureau, and many data ara now being collected by the Weather
Bureau and cooperating agencies in the National Severe Storms Project. Many articles that have
been written about tornadoes are listed in special bibliographies on this subject published by
the American Meteorological Society ~ /T77. Other good sources of information about articles
on tornadoes are included ~n the-- bibliographies in Weather Bureau Technical Paper No. 20
/I87 and Weather Bureau Technical Paper No. 30 /I97. Flora's Tornadoes-or-the-unTfed States /
2U7 also has cons1derablel:iiT A. The National Severe Storms Project. The National Severe
Storms Project !2I7 was established in 1955 as part of the U. S. Weather Bureau's responsibility
in-rllrthering the science of meteorology. A series of tornado disasters in the early 1950's
forcefully indicated a need for more basic information concerning severe convective
phenomena. In this project the Weather Bureau, in collaboration with othe~ governmentai
o~ganizations, and educational institutions, is collecting information needed to accomplish the
following research objectives. 1. To investigate the structure and evolution of those parameters
of cyclonic-scale disturbances which are responsible for the outbreak of severe convection. 2. To
examine and describe the detailed structures of meso- and convective-scale systems so as to
understand the mechanisms underlying the growth, movement, and dissipation of squall lines
and severe weather cells.

To study the distribution and intensity of severe convective by-products (tornadoes, hail,
turbulence, lightning, icing, surface gusts) relative to the cloud mass. 4. To develop a qualitative
and quantitative classification of convective storms by means of ground-based and air-borne
radar. 5. To study the energy budget of severe convective storms. 6. To determine cloud
modification methods which may apply to lessening the effects of severe convection. In this
project extensive data are being collected through use of aircraft reconnaissance, radar, special
surface and upper-air observations, photography, and other methods. A great amount of data
needed for a better understanding of the meteorological characteristics of severe local storms
such as tornadoes will become available during the next several years as a result of this
extensive research project. B. Collection and Publication of Data on Tornadoes from 1916 to the
present time. Systematic.collection and publication of data on tornadoes by the Weather
Bureau has been continuous since 1916. Annual reports on these storms have been published
since that time, showing infor~ation as to place, date, time, loss of life and property, and other
data. The annual publications in which these summaries appeared were: 1916 through 1934
Report of the Chief of the Weather Bureau. 1935 through 1949 United States .Meteorological
Yearbook. 1950 through 1961 Climatological Data, National Summary. In addition to these
annual publications, monthly tabulations of tornadoes and other severe storms were published
in the Monthly Weather Review from June 1921 through 1949, in the monthly issues of the
Climatological Data, Nat1onal Summary from 1950 through 1958, and in the publication .storm
Data beiiDDing in 1959. Accounts of many individual storms, especially if they are outstanding,
were published in the Monthly Weather Review and in the Climatological Data for the State or
Section in which the storms occurred. These accounts often supplied details about the special
characteristics of tornadoes that did not appear in the monthly or annual summaries. The data
on tornadoes beginning in 1916 have been summarized a number of times /ll!7 ~ ~. The latest
summary, Weather Bureau Technical Paper No. 20 - "Tornado OccurrenceSTn the United States"
was revised in 1960 and includes da:t"a Uitough 1958. Weather Bureau Technical Paper No. 20
contains information on Tornadoes of Early Years, Tornado Character~st1cs, Tornado-Statistics,
Tornado Forecasting, Tornado Oddities, Observers' Impressions of Tornadoes, Waterspouts, and
Tornadoes in Other Countries, in addition to tables summarizing the tornado occurrences -
mostly from 1916 through 1958. Graphs and charts showing the number of tornadoes and
tornado days throughout the year, and locations of tornadoes are also shown. The Report of the
Chief of the Weather Bureau included data on tornadoes each year beginning w1th the ~6~
ISsue. The 1nformation was presented in the form of a narrative summary of the tornadoes in
each State annually through 1934. In addition to the summary a map showing the geographic
location of the tornadoes for the year with arrows to indicate direction of movement was
included for each year through 1930. The data were furnished by Weather Bureau officials in
charge of the Climatological Services of the several States, and consisted mostly of information
as to places of occurrence, dates and times, direction of movement, length and width of storm
paths, loss of life and ~njury, and property losseS. The funnel cloud, rotary movem~nt, dipping
and lifting of the tornado, and other special characteristics were mentioned only occasionally.
Funnel clouds that remained aloft were not included until 1932. Waterspouts were counted as
tornadoes on several occasions - chiefly in 1919, 1924, and 1929. A waterspout in Florida in
1919 was described as being of unusual interest be- cause Of the pressure conditions attending
its occurrence. The description indicates this storm developed as a waterspout and moved over
land in a west-northwest direction for a distance of about 14 miles doing considerable damage.
The storm developed in connection_ with a hurrican~, the center_ of which was about 125
miles distant at the time- Of flie tornado-. A f8-w Other tornadoes associated with hurricane
activity were described, but for one storm in 1917 it was stated that information was received
that tornadoes were reported, but it was concluded "that in the absence of more details it
seems possible these were merely extra violent wind gusts in connection with an approaching
hurricane". Several storms were designated as "probably of tornadic character" especially in
1916. In later years, beginning in 1918, the tendency was to count these probable tornadic-like
storms as windstorms rather than tornadoes. In the reports beginning in 1921 reference is
made to the "Severe Local Storm" reports in the Monthly Weather Review, and indicates the
annual report in the Report of the Chief of the Weather Bureau contains the information from
the monthly issues of tne Hev1ew updated and revised to include any later information. It was
annual report differed in some cases from the monthly reports in the Monthly Weather Review
due to changes in the classification of the storms as tornadoes or straight w1nds.

In the Report of a tabular form of presentation was used beg~nning In listed in numbered
chronological order with data as indicatedby the following headings: State and date, hour,
county, direction of advance, length of path (miles), width of path (yards), deaths, property
losses, and remarks. By reference notes the number of injuries were indicated as, few (2 to 4),
several (5 to 9), and 10 or more. The remarks were chiefly concerned with tornadoes in other
States at about the same time, especially those crossing the State boundaries. Some remarks
were significant in that doubt was cast on the classification with statements such.as "Tornadic
character somewhat doubtful". This may be explained by the following statement in the 1933
issue: "It will be noted that in several instances the tornadic character of a storm is given as
somewhat doubtful, but in these cases the presence of marked rotary winds over a rather
narrow area was taken as sufficient evidence to classify the storm as a torn.ado". In 1933 the
remarks included such statements as "funnel cloud observed", or "5 funnel-shaped clouds
observed". The "5 funnel clouds observed" was counted as a single torn_ado. In 1932 one
tornado that may not have dipped to the ground was listed, while in 1933 several cases were
listed where the funnel cloud did not reach the ground. The 1933 table listed the number of
persons injured under "Remarks" when a definite number, such as, 38 ~r 56, was reported. It
was stated in the 1934 Report of the Chief of the Weather Bureau that, "Property losses that
were reported as a resultortornadoes-rcrop losses J.nclude.d) were probably much less than the
true losses, for it is seldom feasible to secure estimates for all parts of a long track, and of-ten
no trustworthy repo~ts can be obtained". The publication United States Meteorological
Yearbook replaced the Report of the Chief of the Weather Bure,.u beginning ~n 1935. The
tornadoes of each year were:Pre=- sented-rn the same type of--table as in the previous years
with one additional column added for showing the number of persons injured. Funnel clouds
not reaching the ground were included; sometimes several funnel clouds were observed and
listed as a single tornado. Attention was paid to paths of tornadoes "not continuous" and
explanation was made that the length of such a path was not the length devastated but rather
the entire distance from the first point of damage to the last. The 1936 issue presented
information in more detail. In addition to the table showing the tornadoes of the year there
were tables summarizing the tornado destruction, death~and injuries by months for each State,
and a table showing the summary of the total number of tornadoes, deaths, and injuries from
1916 through 1936.

The narrative summary for 1936 was also more detailed than in previous years. An additional
column was included to show estimated damage to crops. The remarks were more complete,
mentioning such items.as the observation of the funnel cloud, the peculiar roar, and
waterspouts, as well as types of damage, and storms crossing State boundaries. Funnel clouds
not reaching the ground, and waterspouts were included in the listing. Beginning in 1950 the
reports of tornadoes for each year were published in the annual issue of Climatological Data,
National Summary. The tornado data are listed for each year by States in the same tabular form
as ~n the 1943-1949 Yearbook. Another table "Tornado Summary" listed for each State with
totals for all States, the number of tOrriadoes, number of tornado days, deaths, injuries, and
damage for each month and for the year. Comparative data since 1916 were shown in a third
table on tornadoes, number of tornado days, total loss of life, most deaths in a single tornado,
total reported property losses, and the number of tornadoes causing losses of $100,000 and
$1,000,000. A tornado rose showing percentages of occurrence for indicated directions was
shown in the annual summaries from 1952 through 1960. Maps showing the tracks of
tornadoes for the year, with arrows to indicate direction of movement for those with longer
paths, were also shown. Each annual Climatological Data, National Summary contained an
article "General Summary of Tornadoes in the United States" for the year of issue. In each
article the number of tornadoes that occurred during the year was mentioned with statements
comparing these with previous years. A greater number of tornadoes was reported in the early
1950's than in previous years. In the 1953 summary it states: "It is impossible to compare
accurately this yeir's number of tornadoes with those of other years because (a) the number of
tornadoes reported depends largely on the number of observers reporting and (b) in recent
years more persons have been making these observations". Funnel .clouds that did not reach
the ground, and waterspouts were included in the listings of tornadoes from 1950 through
1956. It was recognized in 1953 that estimates of damages were not comparable. The following
statement appeared in the 1953 publication, "Estimated losses were based on values at time of
occurrence. It is impractical to compare damages with those in previous years without
corresponding adjustments for the change in price index". Although the 1956 annual issue of
the Climatological Data, National Summary used dollar estimates, monthly issues presented
storm aamage (for all types of storms) by categories with the following explanation for tornado
damage: This is a new form of presentation of storm damage estimates. The Weather Bureau
has for some time recognized the fact that without detailed expert appraisal of damage all
figures published aremerely approximations to fact. Since errors in dollars .estimates vary in
proportion to the total, storms are placed in categories varying from 1 to 9 as follows: 1 less
than $50 2 $50 to $500 3 $500 to $5000 4 $5000 to $50000 5 $50000 to $500000 6 $500000 to,
$5000000 7 $5000000 to $50000000 8 $50000000 to $500000000 9 $500000000 to
$5000000000 Beginning in 1957 classification of damage by these categories was used in the
annual as well as the monthly publications. In 1954, 1955, and 1956 dust devils were also
included in the list. In 1957 and 1958 waterspouts were included with tornado data but dust
devil data and funnel clouds aloft were listed in separate tables. In the 1959, 1960, and 1961
Climatological Data, National Summary publications the detailed listings of tornadoes that
occurred during ,the year were omitted, Reference was made to the listings in the new monthly
publication,Storm Data.

These ,annual Climatological Data, National Summary publications continued a summary article
and tables_ showing ~number_ of tornadoes,-- tornado days, and deaths and injuries by
-months for each State. A table with comparative data, similar to that of previous years, was
also published. This table carried the reference that the tabulation did not include funnel clouds
that remained aloft or funnels on water surfaces only. The publication Storm Data issued by the,
Weather Bureau each month beginning in 1959 contains informat1on abOUt tornadoes and
other severe storms in "Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena". This information is
supplied directly by the Weather Bureau State Climatologists. The basic data for each storm
(place, date, time, length, width, number of persons killed and injured, estimated damage to
property and to crops by categories, and, the character of the storm) are followed by rather
detailed remarks as to type of damage, observation of the tornado cloud, and other
information. The categories for classifying property damage are the same as used in the
Climatological Data, National Summary. The following note is carried as a reference in Storm
Data: NOTE: .This publication contains our best information on storms, but due to the difficulties
inherent in collection of this type of data, it is not all inclusive, Delayed data and corrections will
be carried in the June and December issues of this publication.

The subject of tornadoes is not new. Although more common in the United States, torpadoes
were known in other parts of the world and described long before the discovery of America.
Brooks /I5.7 mentions Seneca and Pliny the Elder of ancient times in Rome as having written
aoout them. Records of tornadoes in the United States go back to colonial times. Wolford /TS7
states there are references to approximately 150 tornadoes which occurred in the Unifed States
from 1682 to 1874. Finley /247 stated that in 88 of the years during the period that this record
is very imperfect owing to the greater number of cases not reported. Finley also pointed out
that an average of 146 tornadoes occurred annually considering the 10-year period from 1878
to 1887. Captain William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1804 reported the "ravages
of a dreddful harican" to timber in a narrow path southeastward across the Missouri Ri-ver from
Nebraska into Iowa /'2ri7. These "timber falls" showing the narrow paths in an easterly direction
characteristic of tornadoes were labeled as "hurricane tracks" on many of the early day land
survey maps in the central United States /'Z67. In Wisconsin for example in 1890 there were
recorded 425 tornadoes and "windfal"'fS'IT which Finley n47 did not use for "want of similar
investigation of the subject of 'windfalls' in other States". Shortly after the establishment of the
National Weather Service in the United States in 1870 under the U. S. Signal Service there was a
marked increase in the reporting_and in the publication of data on tornadoes. No doubt
accounts of tornadoes by homesteaders and early day settlers in the central United States led
individuals in the U. S. Signal Corps to study and report on this phenomenon. Possibly the
outstanding contributor to the collection and publication of data during this period was John P.
Finley, an.officer in the U. S. Signal Corps. His paper on "The Character of Six Hundred
Tornadoes" /Z77 in 1881 was the basis for many summaries concerning the climatological
characteriStics of tornadoes. In this publication, data on 600 tornadoes up to 1881 were
presented in tabular form in chronological order beginning with 1794. Data tabulated included
place, date, time of day, direction of storm's course, width and length, forward rate of
movement, shortest time in passing a point, form of cloud (funnel shaped, cone shaped,
inverted cone), direction of whirl (right to left or left to right), temperature preceding storm
(sultry, very hot, oppressive, etc.), temperature following storm (chilly, cold, etc.), direction of
destructive winds, time of rain in relation to tornado, time of hail in relation to tornado,
character of formation of central cloud, electricity in cloud (heavy thunderstorm, none, lightning
before, etc.), and remarks (very destructive, waterspout formed, roaring noise, buildings
destroyed, property losses, fatalities, etc.). In addition to the tabulation, Finley summarized the
information, listing the relative frequency by months, time of day, geographical distribution, and
average and extremes in length of paths. Finley's work was not without criticism, however.
Hinrichs ('Z67, head of the Iowa State Weather Service at that time, contended that many of the
storms classified as tornadoes by Finley were actually straight-line gusty winds for which he
proposed the term "derechoes" as the "straight gusty winds of the prairies" as contrasted to the
rotary winds of the tornadoes.

Besides the paper by Finley on "The Character of Six Hundred Tornadoes" there were a number
of compilations of data on tornadoes that appeared in the Professional Papers of the !! S. Signal
Service in the 1880's /29/and in the Monthly Weather Review which was also published by the
S1gnal. Service at that time. Tornadoes were reported by the Weather Bureau from the
beginning of the organization. Accounts of tornadoes frequently appeared in the Monthly
Weather Review and in other publications. A. J. Henry in the Report of the Chief of the Weather
BUreau, 1895-1896 summarized the tornadoes recorded between 1889 and-r8ss-/9/. Other
accounts of tornadoes appeared in the Climatological Data or Climate and Crops publications for
each State or climatological sect1on. -------- During the 20-year period from 1896 to 1916, the
collection was fragmentary in nature and limited to accounts of some of the the Monthly
Weather Review or to the Climatological Data for the States) in which the tornado occurred.

Summaries of climatological information on tornadoes for individual states.have been prepared

by Weather Bureau State Climatologists .and others. Most of these summaries are based on the
Weather Bureau basic data beginning in 1916, supplemented by other data especially for earlier
years, from sources such as local newsclippings or other information, The data collected usually
are presented in tabular form with information of the style and type given in the nation-wide
annual reports in Climatological Data, National Summary, United States Meteorological
Yearbook, or Report of the Ch1ey-Qf the Weather Bureau. In addition, a narrative summary is
usually inclUded, h1ghTigliting the outstand1ng tornadoes of record in the State and
summarizing the tornadoes that have occurred. Maps showing the location of areas damaged
by tornadoes, and tabular summarizations of data also are sometimes included. Several of these
summaries are published, Others are in locally duplicated form and are available for limited
distribution. This information, as well as more.detailed information about tornadoes in a given
state, especially. in areas of more frequent occurrence, may be obtained by contacting the
Weather Bureau State Climatologist. Addresses of the Weather Bureau State Climatologists are
to be found in the Climatological Data for the State or Section, ---- Several of these summaries
for the individual states or sections are listed as items 30 through 48 in the Reference Section, E.
Reports of Meteorological Conditions Attending Tornadoes, Information as to the
meteorological characteristics of tornadoes has been presented in years past mostly in accounts
of individual storms published in the Monthly Weather Review, Climatological Data, Bulletin of
the American Meteorological Society, Weatherwise, and elsewhere. A few of these are-listed
belowas examples of the types of the information presented in these articles. Some of the
articles such as published in the Monthly Weather Review, June 1957 /497, and the
Climatological Data, Oklahoma, April 1947./50/ present meteorological information based on
f1eld surveys bY Weather Bureau meteorologists. Other articles such .as in Weatherwise, June
1951 ./5I7, and Monthly Weather Review, May 1930 /527 have detailed.informat1on based on
eyew1tness accounts. Other art1cles give detai~as to the synoptic weather conditions prevailing
at the time of the tornado !Sr.l, or furnish information about pressure conditions associated
with .the tornado /54/. Mast of the data collected on tornadoes deal only with the basic
information .as to time and place, effects on life and property, area affected, and direction of
movement, Other information that would help explain the dynamics of the tornado formation,
on the "how" or "why" of the phenomena in addition to "where" and "when" is limited to
occasiona-l statements under "Remarks". During the past few years there has been an increase
in the amount of information given under "Remarks". In Storm Data, for example, State
Climatologists are not limited in including pertinent remarks of yalue. From 1916 to.about 1955,
the data reported on such meteorological characteristics of tornadoes as the observation of the
tornado cloud and evidences of rotary movement, in most caj$sj were much less complete than
those collected years ago.

The Smithsonian Institution 5 almost a century ago asked observers who reported on
tornadoes to answer many questions on such items as the shape, color, and velocity of the
storm cloud, thunder and lightning, accompanying rain or hail, evidences of twisting action and
explosive action, and the "whirl of the spout" (whether "with the sun" or not). Finley in 1884
1277 published information, insofar as available, about such data as the shape of the torllado
cloud, and thunderstorm and electrical activity before, during, and after the passage of the
tornado, He .also listed 29 suggestions to observers for the investigation of tornadoes
mentioning such items as the appearance of the clouds, noise or roar of the tornado,
temperatures before and after the passage of the tornado, and other phenomena. Reynolds /
5G7 in 1950 stated that most reports collected on tornadoes are about their "vital s"titistics"
rather than the "kinematics and dynamics of these storms". He then goes on in his thesis to
outline items for consideration in the investigation of tornadoes. These items included -- A.
Climatology of the tornado giving place, time, data about path, B. Rotary characteristics and the
funnel cloud. C. Evidences of low pressure. D. .Associated wind, weather, cloud, and electrical
phenomena. E. Orographic effects, and other items.

The Weather Bureau State Climatologists and their predecessors (prior to 1954), the Weather
Bureau Section Directors, have been responsible for the systematic collection of data on severe
storms since 1916. These data have been furnished for publi- ~ cation on a regular monthly and
annual basis. In addition, since 1959, Meteorologists in Charge of Weather Bureau Offices have
been responsible for the reporting of severe . .../ storms that have occurred in their county area
of responsibility. Instructions in obtaining these data were that dependance be put only upon
the most reliable and unbiased sources and to investigate and fully verify reports of unusual
storms, such as tornadoes, before classifying them /18/. Weather Bureau Technical Paper No.
20 also states: The storms recorded here as tornadoes were so classified only if the
characteristic funnel cloud -was plainly seen, or subsequent examination of the destruction
clearly indicated the characteristic whirling motion of the winds, the bursting effects on
buildings, or the sucking up of objects into the air as the storm passed. It is realized, of course,
that the judgment of field classifiers of such storms is not infallible especially in borderline
cases. The most satisfactory method for obtaining data on tornadoes is for a meteorologist from
the Weather Bureau or other organization to visit the area affected as soon as possible after its
occurrence to question those living in the.area and to investigate the damage as thoroughly as
possible. The personal visit is the most desirable method to obtain data, especially when the
investigator is checking and reporting on all features rather than only. items of specific interest
or study. The method is subject to several limitations. It has been impossible for Weather
Bureau Officials to investigate,eyery report of tornado damage, especially in the areas of more
frequent occurrence .. Weather Bureau offices are busy places concerned with observations,
public service, forecasting, climatological work, and other responsibilities, especially during and
shortly after tornado activity in the area. This leaves little time or opportunity for personal
inspection and as a result visits are infrequent and usually limited to those storms causing major
loss, ironically those storms already fairly well classified as torn.adoes. Weather Bureau Offices
are instructed to report all .occurrences of tornadoes. The Manual of Surface Observations,
Circular N /37 provides for the reporting of tornadoes in the surface synoptic observations and
these reports of tornadoes, funnel clouds, and waterspouts are marked "URGENT" on long line
teletypewriter circuits to give them priority handling.

The instructions in Circular N also state "The cooperation of local: newsgathering agencies,
police departments, and other organizations having special communication facilities will be
solicited in obtaining public reports .of tornadoes". Weather Bu.reau Offices have always been
responsible for the reporting of tornadoes. Instructions 1577 in 1903 stated that when a
tornado occurred in the vicinity of a station, the official in charge would make diligent effort to
obtain .an accurate description of all meteorological elements accompanying the tornado. The
Instructions then listed the different items for which information was desirable. These items
were: a. The path of the tornado, with the location of buildings destroyed and the distribution
of the debris on either side of the storm track. This should be shown by a map. b. The name of
the place and the date and hour of occurrence. If the tornado passed near a town, the distance
and direction from, should be noted. c. The appearance of the cloud; glow, and funnel-shape;
the color of cloud; the meeting of clouds; lightning and whether seen to issue from the funnel
cloud. d. Character and amount of precipitation, including hail, size of hail. e. Nature of
attendant noises. f. Direction of motion of storm. g. Presence of a whirl, either as seen in the
cloud, or as evidenced by the distribution .of the debris. h. General direction in which trees or
debris lay in the center line of greatest destruction, and on either side of this line. i. Length of
path and width.at point of greatest destruction. j. Number and names of persons killed. 1. An
estimate of the loss due to destruction of buildings, crops, orchards, timber, and other property,
from the direct action Qf the wind; also, under separate heading, an estimate of the loss by hail,
lightning, floods, and other causes, but not directly attributed to wind effect. Circular N,
Paragraph 3~~gl showing the mandatory remarks used for the reporting of tornadoes, is
as.follows.

IIi the observations the words "Tornado", "Waterspout", or "Funnel Cloud" are always written
out in full followed by direction from station. The other method for climatologists to obtain data
about tornadoes is to follow up on press and public reports on _severe storms through use of
question~aires. These questionnaires (WB Form 614-2, formerly WB Form 4035) are sent by the
State Climatologist to climatological observers, postmasters, county agents, sheriffs' offices, and
others. Queries are also sent to local-Weather Bureau Offices, the American Red Cross,
governmental offices in the area, and names of persons mentioned in connection with the
storm. These data tend to emphasize the basic routine statistical information rather than
information about the meteorological characteristics of the tornado. The questionnaire WB 614-
2 (formerly 4035) used before 1957, for example, asked specific questions only on items such as
to place or area, date, time, direction of movement, length and width, casualties, estimate of
damage caused by different types of severe storms (tornado, other damaging wind, hail, etc.)
followed by the statement "additional information on special phenomena such as unusual cloud
formation, will-be appreciated". Several of the Weather Bureau officials supplemented this
questionnaire with additional questions. For example, in Oklahoma in the early 1950's there
were questions about observation of the funnel cloud and other phenomena. In Kansas more
specific data alsowererequested as to exactly where the storm occurred with request to show
section, township, and range, The WB Form 614-2 revised February 1957 contained'places for
more information: such as, was th~ funnel seen, how many funnels, aloft or reaching ground,
unusual sounds, evidence of tornadic winds, peculiarities, nature of debris, unusual cloud
formation, unusual lightning, excessive precipitation, etc. Other questionnaires, WB Form 614-4
and 614-5, were also used for a time beginning in 1954 and 1955 and these contained very
detailed questions. This type of form would be very useful as a guide for Weather Bureau or
other special investigators. The shorter WB Forms 614-2, however, usually had a better return
when mailed out as questionnaires. The questionnaires, WB Form 4035 and the edition of the
WB Form 614-2 before 1957, avoided the need for the recipient of the questionnaire to classify
the type of storm. The only provisions for this were under remarks, or indirectly by indicating
the amount of damage caused by each of the several types of storms. This presumably was
done to leave the decision as to whether or not the storm was a tornado up to the Weather
Bureau official collecting the data. The classification of these severe -~terms, to a considerable
extent, was based on scanty information since the questionQaires had no spaces other than
under remarks to answer such items as: Was there a funnel cloud? Was there any distinctive
sound? or .What evidences were there of rotary movement? The questions had only two items
-- the direction of movements and width of path -- that would provide clues as to the type of
storm. Summaries of the data collected by the Weather Bureau State Climatologists are
furnished for each state to the National Weather Records Center, Asheville, for assembly and
publication in Storm Data. Present instructions are to include all reliable tornado reports
(includrng:funnel clouds aloft) and waterspout reports. (These, of course, are properly labeled
as "tornado", "funnel cloud", or "waterspout"). "Reliability" in these cases means that the State
Climatologist tends to believe the report covered a probable occurrence /597. During the past
several years a greater number of news stories about tornadoes has been made available to
State Climatologists through use of press clipping services. This service began to be used in a
few areas in 1951 and expanded to include all states east of the Rocky Mountains by 1954 /607.
The Severe Local Storms Center (SELS) at Kansas City, in connection with their forecasting
service for severe storms, keeps a tabulation or "log" of all accounts of severe storms reaching
them. These are from press-wires, reports by Weather Bureau Offices received by telephone
and those placed on the several teletypewriter circuits, as well as other sources. The Weather
Records Processing Center in Kansas City, until its closing in January 1963, received a copy of
this log and forwarded the information to the appropriate State Climatologists.
Tornado statistics are difficult to handle. They are valid for most elements, but are subject to
limitations in use. Their reliability depends on the data being considered. Tornado data are not
complete. All tornadoes _are not observed, all those observed are not reported, and some
tornadoes are not called-tornadoes but are classified as windstorms. The current publication
Storm Data recognizes this incompleteness by the following reference note: This publication
contains our best information on storms but due to the difficulties inherent in the collection of
this type of data it is not all inclusive. This statement applies to data time; in fact it is more
applicable time. The completeness of the data for the entire period from 1916 to the present to
data for earlier years than for the present is considered further in a later section. Data on the
time of year, time of day, direction of movement, and number of persons killed are more
reliable than the total number of occurrences and property losses. The narrow width of the
path of these storms is well established but the length of the path often is subject to question.
Information about characteristic features of the tornado is often lacking, especially for the
period before 1950, since only occasional reference is made to such items as the observation of
the funnel cloud, the "roar" of the tornado, evidence of rotary action in the scattering of the
debris, pressure reduction shown by barometer reading, evidences of suction, and the explosive
effects. The number of tornado occurrences is oftentimes difficult to tally. When two or more
pendant clouds are observed dangling from the same parent cloud, some investigators call this
one tornado while others count them as two or more tornadoes. Some count only those
pendant clouds when they touch the ground as separate tornadoes. At other times a tornado
funnel cloud will form and dip to the ground, then go back up into the cloud. Later from what
appears to be the same cloud a funnel will again form and dip to the ground. Then there is the
question as to whether to consider this as one tornado forming, dissipating, and reforming or to
consider this to be separate tornadoes. This is an old problem. It was considered in the 1890's,
and has recurred from time to time without any clear-cut solution. It is possible that radar
observations can assist in standardization. One:solution to the problem is to count the number
of tornado days rather than the number of tornadoes. This was proposed as early as in the
1890's by Moore /627 and has been used by a number of investigators since that time.

The number of tornado days as well as the number of tornadoes haVe been shown in the tables
in the Climatological Data National Summary. The time of day of tornado occurrence seems well
established although there is some difficulty in handling these data because of differences in
standard of time in use, daylight savings or war time, and whether to consider only the time of
beginning of tornadoactivity rather than time of dissipation. Most data list the time of
beginning of activity supplemented by the times different places are struck. Data on the time of
year tornadoes occur are well established. Close agreement as to time of year tornadoes occur
in Oklahoma was found by two investigators working independently, one using data prior to
1952 /637; the other using data between 1954 and 1960 /G47. --- An example of close
agreement in time of day and in month of occurrence is between the data published i.n
Technical Paper No. 20 /Tii7 and those by Lee in 1957 %57. Technical Paper No. 20 used
data,from ~through T958; Lee used data from 1950--- through l9~The pr~ncipal difference
noted by Lee was in the total number of tornadoes. Between 1950 and ~95othere was an
average of 458 reported tornadoes per year as compared with 149 per year for the 1916-1950
period.

The pattern from year to year of the wind rose is'consistent in showing that most tornadoes
move in a northeasterly direction. Paths of damage by tornadoes are almost invariably narrow;
in fact many persons question the correct. classification.of the storm as a tornado or have doubt
about the validity of the data when the width of the path is given in miles rather than in yards.
Some of the more outstanding tornadoes, however, have been more than a mile wide. The
length of the tornado path is often questioned because of the difficulty in determining whether
there is one tornado with a longer path or several--each with shorter paths. Then too, there is
doubt about how to determine the length when the funnel cloud dips and lifts as it travels on its
way. Usually most investigators show the length as the distance between the point of first
damage and the last place where damage occurred. The most reliable tornado statistics are the
number of deaths reported. Linehan /T97 in Weather Bureau Technical Paper No. 30, "Tornado
Deaths in the United States,. points out that while the death or-a-person-might be an
incontrovertible and easily accountable statistic, the recording and summation of fatalities is
subject to such errors as might occur because some victims linger for a long time before death
while others are killed instantly. Other sources of error are overlapping partial reports, and
incomplete data from remote areas. Linehan then goes on to comment as follows with regard to
the reliability of the data: In spite of these and other potential causes of error, storm-bystorm
death.totals recorded in the annual tornado summaries published by the Weather Bureau seem
to be remarkably complete and correct. The impression of correctness derives from repeated
agreement between Weather Bureau totals and those reported hy other apparently reliable
sources, as revealed in the course of a thoroughgoing search for additional details of tornado-
death occurrence. The completeness, at least of the roster of deathdealing tornadoes, is
suggested hy the pattern of annual tornadodeath day totals during the 38-year period It
will be oPserved that in spite of a progressive rise in number of tornadoes repor.ted and in
number of tornado days, there is no significant change in the number of tornado-death days.
Thus, although many tornadoes have, in the past, obviously been unreported, and although the
number of tornadoes reported has increased remarkably in recent years in response to
concerted efforts to detect their occurrence, there has been no corresponding increase in the
number of tornado-death days. It would appear, then, that throughout the 38-year period
death-dealing tornadoes have always attracted sufficient attention to become a matter of
record. Data on injuries are much less reliable than are the statistics on deaths from tornadoes.
Injuries range from those nearly fatal to those merely scratches.

Many of the statistics on the number injured include only those requiring hospital attention;
others include those with lesser injuries, or those requiring only first aid treatment. For a
number of years in the early 1930's the annual tabulations of tornado data counted injuries as
1, few meaning 2 to 4, several meaning 5 to 9, and 10 or more. In many instances data on the
number of injuries were not obtained. Estimates of the amount of property damage by tornadic
activity are often of little value. The Weather Bureau has for some time recognized the fact that
without detailed expert appraisal of damage all figures published are merely approximations to
fact. Accordingly the Weather Bureau in recent years generally has published storm damage
estimates grouped in rather broad categories ranging from "1" for losses of less than $50 to "9"
for damages between five hundred million dollars and five billion dollars. The fact that data on
damage estimates are approximations to fact was recognized by Hazen ~ as early as 1890 when
he pointed out the inherent difficulty in the canvass of tornadoes and stated that wild estimates
of the damage done were sometimes made.

The amount of property subject to damage has increased tremendously over the years.
Compar~sons on estimates of losses due to tornadoes from one year to another are therefore
impracticable. Besides the amount of property that can be damaged the values of the property
also have changed, In 1953 the following statement was published in the annual Climatological
Data: "Estimated losses are based on values at time of occurrence. It is ~practic~o compare
damages withthose in previous years without corresponding adjust;ments for the change in
price index." The difficulty of proper classification of the type of storm that causes prope
damage also has an undetermined effect on data showing the property damages as the result of
tornadoes. Insurance companies providing coverage for losses from local windstorms do not as
a rule distinguish between damage caused by a tornado or by straight-line windstorms. The
damage losses published by the Weather Bureau in years past have tended to be conservative
and therefore they have more likely been underestimates of the loss~s that have occurred
rather than overestimates. They are incomplete estimates at best. In the Report of the Chief of
the Weather Bureau in 1924 and for several years thereafter th1s was recognrzea-iilthe
following statement: "The property losses that were reported are probably considerably less
than the true losses, for it is seldom feasible to secure estimates for all _parts of a long track,
and occasionally no estimate whatever can be had." The damage estimates of losses due to
tornadoes and windstorms published by the Weather Bureau in the Climatological Data,
National Summary from 1950 through 1954 are low when compared with the total losses paid
bY insurance companies /677. In .... -st states the sum of losses by insurance companies on
tornado, wind, cyclone, and hail property insurance, and the losses by extended coverage is
generally greater than the total damage reported by the Weather BUreau. The data based on
insurance losses also represents only an undetermined percentage of the total loss since much
property is not insured. Only a limited percentage of the tornadoes that occur are reported and
appear in the Weather Bureau Records. Severe local winds are difficult to classify. Some have
been called tornadoes, others have been called "straight-winds", "thundersqualls", "plow
winds", uderechoes", and "rip storms". In the data on tornadoes expressions such as "probable
tornado", ''tornado like winds", indicate doubt as to the classification of these storms. Insurance
companies usually do not attempt to classify the type of winds that damage insured property--
they pay for "wind damage" rather than damage by "tornadoes" or uthunderstorm squall
winds".

There are many storms in the severe local storm data that have been called either tornadoes or
straight-line winds depending on the opinion of those reporting the storm and the Weather
Bureau officials involved. These opinions have been based on scanty evidence in many cases.
Brooks /I57 points out that the number of tornadoes reported will depend upon the
classification of the severe storms. In thecompendium of Meteorology he stated: A tabulation
of" tornadoes which occurred over a long period of years is needed to determine frequencies.
Unfortunately many severe windstorms are difficult to classify correctly. The number of
tornadoes is erroneously decreased by unreported tornadoes or by tornadoes classified as
other storms, and it is erroneously increased by non-tornadic storms reported as tornadoes.
There has been a marked increase in the number of tornadoes reported since about 1950, This
has been due to a number of factors. According to Reichelderfer /68/ these are (l) greater
density of population to report tornadoes in areas which formerly were relatively unpopulated,
(2) greater public awareness and observation of tornadoes through tornado forecasts
disseminated over radio and television stations, (3) improved storm reporting networks and
techniques, (4) more trained cooperative observers, and (5) the establishment of community
warning networks.

The number of tornadoes reported has generally increased from the beginning of the National
Weather Service in 1870 up to the present time, except for a period of about 20 years from
1896 to 1916. ~ Many investigators have indicated that the increase in the number of tornadoes
is '~J due to more complete reporting of the phenomenon rather than an actual increase in
number. Statements by several authorities follow. Finley in 1888 /697 stated: A comparison of
earlier records with those of recent years might easily lead one to suppose that the occurrence
of tornadoes was increasing, but the facts in the case will not permit such a conclusion. In
recent years better means of observations and records, and greater facilities for the collection of
reports have existed. With the rapid growth of the country more destruction to life and
property has been occasioned, and a greater zeal of the press has brought to light many
occurrences which under other circumstances would have been unobserved or disregarded. A
careful study of tornado development and distribution shows that there are as many
considerations to justify the belief that tornadoes were quite as frequent a hundred years ago
as now.and that this degree of frequency will not be diminished for a hundred years to come.
Moore, then Chief of the Weather Bureau, stated in 1896 ~: I am satisfied that the number of
these storms is not increasing, that the breaking of virgin soil, the planting or the cutting away
of forests, the draining of land surface by tile, the stringing of thousands of miles of wire, or the
laying of iron and steel rails, has not materially altered the climatic conditions or contributed to
the intensity or frequency of tornadoes. To be sure, as towns become more numerous and
population more dense, greater destruction will ensue from the same number of storms.
Henry !S7 in 1906 stated that: It is difficult to form a correct idea of tornadoes in the United
States.

The extremely local character of the phenomena on the one hand and the sparseness of
population on the other make it almost impossible to obtain an accurate record of the number
and distribution of tornadoes. There is also difficulty at times in distinguishing between the true
tornado and straight-line squall winds, especially on the part of uninformed persons. Many so-
called tornadoes are foundupon investigation to have been.simply severe thunderstorms with
more or less violent squall winds. Landsberg /707 in 1947 in commenting about the number of
tornadoes between 1916 and 1945 stated_: __ It is likely that these figures are smaller than the
actual number of tornado occurrences because a good many tornadoes in the less densely
populated areas are not noted. Others, while observed, do not enter the official records
because they did not produce any damage and were far from localities with meteorological
observers. Flora, who as Climatological Section Director for Kansas, was responsible for
collection of tornado data for many years in that state, stated in 1928 /717: "that beginning in
1914 special care has been taken to record important facts concerning each tornado that has
occurred in Kansas" and that while some tornadoes in less populated western counties may
not have been reported "Certainly none of consequence has escaped notice."

In the following year Flora's article on "Tornadoes in Kansas" (7'l.:7 contained the statement
"Tornadoes are undoubtedly more numerous than most persons realize." In 1953 Flora /2U7
stated: In recent years more emphasis on the need of collecting reports, a closer network of
reporting stations, and pilot reports have materially increased the number of storms tabulated,
although there is no reason to think that tornadoes are becoming more frequent than formerly.
The case of Kansas will illustrate the point. Prior to 1951 tornado reports in this state were
chiefly obtained from Weather Bureau stations about 175 in number, and such newspaper
accounts as happened to be available. The outstanding storms were reported, but it is known
that many escaped tabulation. The average annual number for the 37-year period ending with
1950 was 18. In May 1951, just as the tornado season wa~ opening, arrangements were made
with a clipping bureau to furnish clippings concerning tornadoes from all the state newspapers.
The surprising result was that 106 of these storms were listed--more than twice the number
reported in any previous year. It is true that 1951 was a record breaking wet year and tornadoes
are usually associated with wet spells, but the next wettest year, 1915, is credited with only ten
of the storms.

Flora goes on to state that: The clinching proof that many tornadoes have not been reported or
recorded is the fact that cities where fully staffed offices of the Weather Bureau have been
maintained over a long period, are credited with many more tornadoes than are towns where
no such detailed and permanent records have been kept. There has been a remarkable increase
in the number of tornadoes reported beginning about 1950. Weather Bureau Climatological
Data National Summary publications have recognized this increase in frequency and have
caut1oned those using the data in comparison with those of earlier years. In the 1952 Annual
Climatological Data National Summary, for example, the following statements are included 1n
the general summary of tornadoes in the United States for the year 1952: However, caution
must be observed in comparing 1952 tornado occurrences with those of past years. The
number of tornado reports received is very largely dependent on the number of observers
reporting such storms. In more recent years our tornado reporting network has-become more
dense than previously.

Consequently, we would expect to have more tornadoes reported simply because there are a
greater number of people alerted to make observations. B. Homogeneity of Data. Although all
officials concerned have operated under uniform instructions from the Weather Bureau in
Washington, the data collected on tornadoes have not always been hOmogeneous. Weather
Bureau officials have had, and still have varying degrees of interest in this phenomenon, and
there are differences in the amount of time, help, and facilities available to them for the
collection of the data. Considerable subjectivity is involved in the collection of data on
tornadoes. The number reported, for example depends on the number observed, reported,
and classified as such. Because of the differences in opinion on the classification "threshold"
some State Climatologists tend to classify many severe windstorms of limited extent as straight
winds while others wil.l call them tornadoes.

In some areas, especially in earlier years, there was a tendency to report a tornado only when
the funnel was observed. As a result a lesser p~rcentage of the total number of tornadoes was
reported as such when darkness or obscuring clouds and rain prevented observation of the
tornado cloud. Joos ~ also pointed out that tornadoes from the Mississippi River eastward often
move-from 40 to 65 miles per hour and these are often incorrectly classified because the length
of time that a tornado could be observed is reduced so that there is lesser chance for it to be
seen by a reliable observer. In fast moving storms, additional wind speed associated with the
storm would concentrate wind damage on the right side of the path with little or no damage to
the left with the result such damage would be confused with straight-wind damage. There is a
tendency for data on tornadoes to be weighted toward the centers of population. There is also a
further tendency for the data to be biased in that more tornadoes are likely to be reported to
the Weather Bureau from those areas near Weather Bureau Offices /727. It is likely this bias
toward the centers of population and Weather Bureau Offices has become less in recent years
due to more widespread interest and improved communication facilities by press wires, radio,
and television

Because the data are not entirely homogeneous, comparison of data on tornadoes from place
to place and from one period of time with another should be used with care. Some investigators
have attempted to mitigate this inhomogeneity by dealing.only with tornadoes considered to be
outstanding .. with loss of life, extensive property damage, or unusually long paths. Spohn and
Waite /377 did this in their study in the hope better statistics would be furnished since such
outstanding tornadoes could scarcely escape observation, reporting, or correct classification.
They reported that even these criteria did not furnish an unbiased picture since fewest
tornadoes with great property loss occurred during depression years when prices were low.
They also pointed out that tornadoes caqsing death have diminished with time in-relation to the
total population, which most likely was due to improved forecasting, warnings, and
communication facilities. Kraft and Conner /747, in developing tornado f.orecasting criteria,
considered major tornadoes (those Cillsing 10 or more deaths in a day) to avoid dealing with
those cases where there would be a possibility of using data where storms were not classified
correctly. There have been a number of tabulations comparing tornadoes or tornado days by
States.

Changnon and Stout ~ point out that States are not the ideal geographic unit for a comparison
since they are political entities of unequal size and shape. The basis of comparison by states is
convenient since the data have been aceumulated by states. Various means have been used to
remedy the inequities as a result of using state boundaries. Day in 1930 /75.7 divided the
country into 100 mile square areas counting the number of tornadoes in each square. Brown
and Roberts in 1937 /767 considered the areal frequency of tornadoes by counties. The
Hydrometeorological Section of the Weather Bureau in 1945 /777 published data including the
monthly variation in tornado days and total number o~ornado days per 10,000 square mile area
per state or section for the period 1880-1942. Fawbush, Miller, and Starrett /7W-in 1951
prepared isoline maps based on the total number of tornadoes per 50 mile square reported for
the period 1920-1949. Weather Bureau Technical Paper No. 20 (Ig7 shows maps of the United
States showing tornadoes 1916-1955 w~th isol~nes based-on total number by 2 degree
squares, and tornadoes by l degree squares for the period 1953-1958. These maps were in
addition to the charts showing the tracks of the tornadoes by months from 1916-1958. Charts
with dots or tornado tracks to show location of tornadoes have been used by many investigators
beginning in the 1880's.

Tornadoes are among the most violent storms on the planet. A tornado is a violently rotating
column of air extending between, and in contact with, a cloud and the surface of the earth.
The most violent tornadoes are capable of tremendous destruction with wind speeds of 250
miles per hour or more. In extreme cases, winds may approach 300 miles per hour. Damage
paths can be in excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long. The most powerful tornadoes are
produced by super-cell thunderstorms. These storms are affected by horizontal wind shears
(winds moving in different directions at different altitudes) that begin to rotate the storm. This
horizontal rotation can be tilted vertically by violent updrafts, and the rotation radius can shrink,
forming a vertical column of very quickly swirling air. This rotating air can eventually reach the
ground, forming a tornado.

Severe thunderstorms can produce tornadoes, high winds, and hailany of which can cause
extensive property damage and loss of life. Thunderstorms form when warm, moist air collides
with cooler, drier air. Since these masses tend to come together during the transition from
summer to winter, most thunderstorms occur during the spring and fall months. Tornadoes
occasionally accompany tropical storms and hurricanes that move over land. Tornadoes are the
most common to the right and front of the storm center path as it comes ashore. Tornadoes
vary in terms of duration, wind speed and the toll that th According to the Glossary of
Meteorology (AMS 2000), a tornado is "a violently rotating column of air, pendant from a
cumuliform cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, and often (but not always) visible as a
funnel cloud." Literally, in order for a vortex to be classified as a tornado, it must be in contact
with the ground and the cloud base. Weather scientists haven't found it so simple in practice,
however, to classify and define tornadoes. For example, the difference is unclear between an
strong mesocyclone (parent thunderstorm circulation) on the ground, and a large, weak
tornado. There is also disagreement as to whether separate touchdowns of the same funnel
constitute separate tornadoes. It is wellknown that a tornado may not have a visible funnel.
Also, at what wind speed of the cloud-to-ground vortex does a tornado begin? How close must
two or more different tornadic circulations become to qualify as a one multiple-vortex tornado,
instead of separate tornadoes? There are no firm answers. How do tornadoes form? The classic
answer -- "warm moist Gulf air meets cold Canadian air and dry air from the Rockies" -- is a
gross oversimplification. Many thunderstorms form under those conditions (near warm fronts,
cold fronts and drylines respectively), which never even come close to producing tornadoes.
Even when the large-scale environment is extremely favorable for tornadic thunderstorms, as in
an SPC "High Risk" outlook, not every thunderstorm spawns a tornado. The truth is that we
don't fully understand.

The most destructive and deadly tornadoes occur from supercells -- which are rotating
thunderstorms with a well-defined radar circulation called a mesocyclone. [Supercells can also
produce damaging hail, severe non-tornadic winds, unusually frequent lightning, and flash
floods.] Tornado formation is believed to be dictated mainly by things which happen on the
storm scale, in and around the mesocyclone. Recent theories and results from the VORTEX
program suggest that once a mesocyclone is underway, tornado development is related to the
temperature differences across the edge of downdraft air wrapping around the mesocyclone
(the occlusion downdraft). Mathematical modeling studies of tornado formation also indicate
that it can happen without such temperature patterns; and in fact, very little temperature
variation was observed near some of the most destructive tornadoes in history on 3 May 1999.

The details behind these theories are given in several of the Scientific References accompanying
this FAQ. What direction do tornadoes come from? Does the region of the US play a role in path
direction? Tornadoes can appear from any direction. Most move from southwest to northeast,
or west to east. Some tornadoes have changed direction amid path, or even backtracked. [A
tornado can double back suddenly, for example, when its bottom is hit by outflow winds from a
thunderstorm's core.] Some areas of the US tend to have more paths from a specific direction,
such as northwest in Minnesota or southeast in coastal south Texas. This is because of an
increased frequency of certain tornado-producing weather patterns (say, hurricanes in south
Texas, or northwest-flow weather systems in the upper Midwest).

Does hail always come before the tornado? Rain? Lightning? Utter silence? Not necessarily, for
any of those. Rain, wind, lightning, and hail characteristics vary from storm to storm, from one
hour to the next, and even with the direction the storm is moving with respect to the observer.
While large hail can indicate the presence of an unusually dangerous thunderstorm, and can
happen before a tornado, don't depend on it. Hail, or any particular pattern of rain, lightning or
calmness, is not a reliable predictor of tornado threat. How do tornadoes dissipate? The details
are still debated by tornado scientists. We do know tornadoes need a source of instability (heat,
moisture, etc.) and a larger-scale property of rotation (vorticity) to keep going. There are a lot of
processes around a thunderstorm which can possibly rob the area around a tornado of either
instability or vorticity. One is relatively cold outflow -- the flow of wind out of the precipitation
area of a shower or thunderstorm. Many tornadoes have been observed to go away soon after
being hit by outflow. For decades, storm observers have documented the death of numerous
tornadoes when their parent circulations (mesocyclones) weaken after they become wrapped in
outflow air -- either from the same thunderstorm or a different one. The irony is that some
kinds of thunderstorm outflow may help to cause tornadoes, while other forms of outflow may
kill tornadoes. Do tornadoes really skip? Not in a literal sense, despite what you may have read
in many older references, news stories, or even damage survey reports. By definition (above), a
tornado must be in contact with the ground. There is disagreement in meteorology over
whether or not multiple touchdowns of the same vortex or funnel cloud mean different
tornadoes (a strict interpretation)

IIn either event, stories of skipping tornadoes usually mean 1. There was continuous contact
between vortex and ground in the path, but it was too weak to do damage; 2. Multiple
tornadoes happened; but there was no survey done to precisely separate their paths (very
common before the 1970s); or 3. There were multiple tornadoes with only short separation, but
the survey erroneously classified them as one tornado. How long does a tornado last?
Tornadoes can last from several seconds to more than an hour. The longest-lived tornado in
history is really unknown, because so many of the long-lived tornadoes reported from the early-
mid 1900s and before are believed to be tornado series instead. Most tornadoes last less than
10 minutes. How close to a tornado does the barometer drop? And how far does it drop ? It
varies. A barometer can start dropping many hours or even days in advance of a tornado if there
is low pressure on a broad scale moving into the area. Strong pressure falls will often happen as
the mesocyclone (parent circulation in the thunderstorm) moves overhead or nearby. The
biggest drop will be in the tornado itself, of course. It is very hard to measure pressure in
tornadoes since most weather instruments can't survive. A few low-lying, armored probes
called "turtles" have been placed successfully in tornadoes. This includes one deployment on 15
May 2003 by engineer/storm chaser Tim Samaras, who recorded pressure fall of over 40
millibars through an unusually large tornado. On 24 June 2003, another of Tim's probes
recorded a 100 millibar pressure plunge in a violent tornado near Manchester, SD (National
Geographic report). Despite those spectacular results, and a few fortuitous passes over
barometers through history, we still do not have a database of tornado pressures big enough to
say much about average tornado pressures or other barometric characteristics. What is a
waterspout? A waterspout is a tornado over water -- usually meaning non-supercell tornadoes
over water. Waterspouts are common along the southeast U.S. coast -- especially off southern
Florida and the Keys -- and can happen over seas, bays and lakes worldwide. Although
waterspouts are always tornadoes by definition; they don't officially count in tornado records
unless they hit land. They are smaller and weaker than the most intense Great Plains tornadoes,
but still can be quite dangerous. Waterspouts can overturn boats, damage larger ships, do
significant damage when hitting land, and kill people. The National Weather Service will often
issue special marine warnings when waterspouts are likely or have been sighted over coastal
waters, or tornado warnings when waterspouts can move onshore. How are tornadoes in the
northern hemisphere different from tornadoes in the southern hemisphere? The sense of
rotation is usually the opposite. Most tornadoes -- but not all! -- rotate cyclonically, which is
counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise south of the equator. Anticyclonic
tornadoes (clockwise-spinning in the northern hemisphere) have been observed, however --
usually in the form of waterspouts, non-supercell land tornadoes, or anticyclonic whirls around
the rim of a supercell's mesocyclone. There have been several documented cases of cyclonic
and anticyclonic tornadoes under the same thunderstorm at the same time. Anticyclonically
rotating supercells with tornadoes are extremely rare; but one struck near Sunnyvale, CA, in
1998. Remember, "cyclonic" tornadoes spin counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere, and
clockwise. What is a multivortex tornado? Multivortex (a.k.a. multiple-vortex) tornadoes
contain two or more small, intense subvortices orbiting the center of the larger tornado
circulation. When a tornado doesn't contain too much dust and debris, they can sometimes be
spectacularly visible. These vortices may form and die within a few seconds, sometimes
appearing to train through the same part of the tornado one after another. They can happen in
all sorts of tornado sizes, from huge "wedge" tornadoes to narrow "rope" tornadoes.
Subvortices are the cause of most of the narrow, short, extreme swaths of damage that
sometimes arc through tornado tracks. From the air, they can preferentially mow down crops
and stack the stubble, leaving cycloidal marks in fields. Multivortex tornadoes are the source of
most of the old stories from newspapers and other media before the late 20th century which
told of several tornadoes seen together at once. What is the original F-scale? Dr. T. Theodore
Fujita developed a damage scale (Fujita 1971, Fujita and Pearson 1973) for winds, including
tornadoes, which was supposed to relate the degree of damage to the intensity of the wind.
This scale was the result. The original F-scale should not be used anymore, because it has been
replaced by an enhanced version. Tornado wind speeds are still largely unknown; and the wind
speeds on the original F-scale have never been scientifically tested and proven. Different winds
may be needed to cause the same damage depending on how well-built a structure is, wind
direction, wind duration, battering by flying debris, and a bunch of other factors. Also, the
process of rating the damage itself is largely a judgment call -- quite inconsistent and arbitrary
(Doswell and Burgess, 1988). Even meteorologists and engineers highly experienced in damage
survey techniques often came up with different F-scale ratings for the same damage. Even with
all its flaws, the original F-scale was the only widely used tornado rating method for over three
decades. The enhanced F-scale takes effect 1 February 2007. What is the Enhanced F-scale?
The Enhanced F-scale (simple table or detailed 95 page PDF) is a much more precise and robust
way to assess tornado damage than the original. It classifies F0-F5 damage as calibrated by
engineers and meteorologists across 28 different types of damage indicators (mainly various
kinds of buildings, but also a few other structures as well as trees). The idea is that a "one size
fits all" approach just doesn't work in rating tornado damage, and that a tornado scale needs to
take into account the typical strengths and weaknesses of different types of construction. This is
because the same wind does different things to different kinds of structures. In the Enhanced F-
scale, there will be different, customized standards for assigning any given F rating to a well
built, well anchored wood-frame house compared to a garage, school, skyscraper, unanchored
house, barn, factory, utility pole or other type of structure. In a real-life tornado track, these
ratings can be mapped together more smoothly to make a damage analysis. Of course, there
still will be gaps and weaknesses on a track where there was little or nothing to damage, but
such problems will be less common than under the original F-scale. As with the original F-scale,
the enhanced version will rate the tornado as a whole based on most intense damage within
the path. There are no plans to systematically re-evaluate historical tornadoes using the
Enhanced F-scale. A full PDF document on the Enhanced F-scale is online. So if the original F-
scale winds were just guesses, why were they so specific? Excellent question. Original F-scale
winds were attached arbitrarily to the damage scale based on 12-step mathematical
interpolation between the hurricane criteria of the Beaufort wind scale, and the threshold for
Mach 1 (738 mph). Though the F-scale actually peaked at F12 (Mach 1), only F1 through F5
were used in practice, with F0 attached for tornadoes of winds weaker than hurricane force. The
newer EF-Scale wind groupings were rooted in engineering study of wind effects, with the 3-
second gust thresholds rounded to the nearest values that are divisible by 5. I heard the
Oklahoma City tornado was almost "F6." Is that a real level on the original F-scale? Is there such
a thing as EF-6? For the original F-Scale, Fujita plotted hypothetical winds higher than F5; but as
mentioned in the previous answer above, they were only guesses. Even if the winds measured
by portable Doppler radar (32 meters above ground level, roughly 302 mph) had been over 318
mph, the tornado still would have been rated "only" F5, since that is the most intense possible
damage level. On the Enhanced F-scale, there is no such thing as "EF6" or higher. Damage -- no
matter how "incredible" or how strong the wind -- maxes out at EF-5. What is a "significant"
tornado? A tornado is considered "significant" if it was rated EF2 or greater on the Enhanced F
scale, or at least F2 on the old F-scale. Grazulis (1993) also included killer tornadoes of any
damage rating in his significant tornado database. It is important to know that those definitions
are arbitrary, mainly for parsing out more intense tornadoes in scientific research. No tornado is
necessarily insignificant. Any tornado can kill or cause damage; and some tornadoes rated less
than EF2 in open areas probably could do EF2 or greater damage if they hit a sufficiently well-
constructed target. Big fat tornadoes are the strongest ones, right? Not necessarily. There is a
statistical trend (as documented by NSSL's Harold Brooks) toward wide tornadoes having higher
damage ratings. This could be related to greater tornado strength, more opportunity for targets
to damage, or some blend of both. However, the size or shape of any particular tornado does
not say anything conclusive about its strength. Some small "rope" tornadoes still can cause
violent damage of EF4 or EF5; and some very large tornadoes over a quarter-mile wide have
produced only weak damage equivalent to EF0 to EF1. Can't we weaken or destroy tornadoes
somehow, like by bombing them or sucking out their heat with a bunch of dry ice? The main
problem with anything which could realistically stand a chance at affecting a tornado (e.g.,
hydrogen bomb) is that it would be even more deadly and destructive than the tornado itself.
Lesser things (like huge piles of dry ice or smaller conventional weaponry) would be too hard to
deploy in the right place fast enough, and would likely not have enough impact to affect the
tornado much anyway. Imagine the legal problems one would face, too, by trying to bomb or ice
a tornado, then inadvertently hurting someone or destroying private property in the process. In
short -- bad idea! How does cloud seeding affect tornadoes? Nobody knows, for certain. There
is no proof that seeding can or cannot change tornado potential in a thunderstorm. This is
because there is no way to know that the things a thunderstorm does after seeding would not
have happened anyway. This includes any presence or lack of rain, hail, wind gusts or tornadoes.
Because the effects of seeding are impossible to prove or disprove, there is a great deal of
controversy in meteorology about whether it works, and if so, under what conditions, and to
what extent. What does a tornado sound like? That depends on what it is hitting, its size,
intensity, closeness and other factors. The most common tornado sound is a continuous rumble,
like a closeby train. Sometimes a tornado produces a loud whooshing sound, like that of a
waterfall or of open car windows while driving very fast. Tornadoes which are tearing through
densely populated areas may be producing all kinds of loud noises at once, which collectively
may make a tremendous roar. Just because you may have heard a loud roar during a damaging
storm does not necessarily mean it was a tornado. Any intense thunderstorm wind can produce
damage and cause a roar. Where can I get tornado pictures? Photographic prints of tornadoes
are sold by a number of storm chasers and by the NSEA Concession. You can see many
interesting free weather images at http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/nssl/tornado1.html. There
are also several stock photography agencies specializing in, or peddling on the side, weather
photos which include tornadoes. A search engine can help you find online stock photo outfits
and tornado photographs. For digital online photos, many tornado-related websites display
images; but since all personal photography is legally copyrighted upon creation. Photos on this
site and all National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA) agencies, including the National Weather
Service, are public domain and free to download, though credit to the agency and/or source is
required. Where can I get video of tornadoes? Public-domain videos of National Severe Storms
Lab tornado intercept footage are available for a reproduction fee through a video transfer
service used by NSSL. Many production companies, TV stations and storm chasers have made
videotapes of tornadoes available for sale as well. Try web search engines and storm chaser
pages. This FAQ will not endorse any particular commercial tornado video source or tour
operation. Do hurricanes and tropical storms produce tornadoes? Often, but not always. There
are great differences from storm to storm, not necessarily related to tropical cyclone size or
intensity. Some landfalling hurricanes in the U.S. fail to produce any known tornadoes, while
others cause major outbreaks. The same hurricane also may have none for awhile, then erupt
with tornadoes...or vice versa! Andrew (1992), for example, spawned several tornadoes across
the Deep South after crossing the Gulf, but produced none during its rampage across South
Florida. Katrina (2005) spawned numerous tornadoes after its devastating LA/MS landfall, but
only one in Florida (in the Keys). Though fewer tornadoes tend to occur with tropical
depressions and tropical storms than hurricanes, there are notable exceptions like TS Beryl of
1994 in the Carolinas. Some tropical cyclones even produce two distinct sets of tornadoes -- one
around the time of landfall over Florida or the Gulf Coast, the other when well inland or exiting
the Atlantic coast. What's the nature of tornadoes in hurricanes and tropical storms?
Hurricane-spawned tornadoes tend to occur in small, low-topped supercells within the outer
bands, NNW through ESE of the center -- mainly the northeast quadrant. There, the orientation
and speed of the winds create vertical shear profiles somewhat resembling those around classic
Great Plains supercells -- the shear being in a shallower layer but often stronger. Occasionally a
tornado will happen in the inner bands as well, but the large majority still form outside the
hurricane force wind zone. Because tornado-producing circulations in hurricane supercells tend
to be smaller and shorter-lived than their Midwest counterparts, they are harder to detect on
Doppler radar, and more difficult to warn for. But hurricane-spawned tornadoes can still be
quite deadly and destructive, as shown by the F3 tornado from Hurricane Andrew at La Place LA
(1992, 2 killed) and an F4 tornado at Galveston TX from Hurricane Carla (1961, 8 killed). Do
tropical cyclones produce waterspouts? Yes. Waterspouts -- tornadoes over water -- have been
observed in tropical systems. We don't know how many of them happen in tropical cyclones,
but a majority probably are from supercells. The similarity in Doppler radar velocity signatures
over water to tornado-producing cells in landfalling hurricanes suggests that it may be common
-- and yet another good reason for ships to steer well clear of tropical cyclones. Does tropical
cyclone strength or size matter for tornadoes? Often, but not always. Relatively weak hurricanes
like Danny (1985) have spawned significant supercell tornadoes well inland, as have larger, more
intense storms like Beulah (1967) and Ivan (2004). In general, the bigger and stronger the wind
fields are with a tropical cyclone, the bigger the area of favorable wind shear for supercells and
tornadoes. But supercell tornadoes (whether or not in tropical cyclones) also depend on
instability, lift and moisture. Surface moisture isn't lacking in a tropical cyclone, but sometimes
instability and lift are too weak. This is why tropical systems tend to produce more tornadoes in
the daytime and near any fronts that may get involved in the cyclone circulation. It is also why
SPC won't always have tornado watches out for every instance of a tropical cyclone affecting
land. For more details, there is a set of articles on tropical cyclone tornadoes listed in the
Scientific References section. For more information on hurricanes, go to the Tropical Cyclone
FAQ by Chris Landsea, Neal Dorst and Erica Rule. TORNADO FORECASTING Who forecasts
tornadoes? In the U.S., only the National Weather Service (NWS) issues tornado forecasts
nationwide. Warnings come from each NWS office. The Storm Prediction Center issues watches,
general severe weather outlooks, and mesoscale discussions. Tornadoes in Canada are handled
by the Meteorological Service of Canada. Very few other nations have specific tornado watch
and warning services. How do you forecast tornadoes? This is a very simple question with no
simple answer! Here is a very generalized view from the perspective of a severe weather
forecaster: When predicting severe weather (including tornadoes) a day or two in advance, we
look for the development of temperature and wind flow patterns in the atmosphere which can
cause enough moisture, instability, lift, and wind shear for tornadic thunderstorms. Those are
the four needed ingredients. But it is not as easy as it sounds. "How much is enough" of those is
not a hard fast number, but varies a lot from situation to situation -- and sometimes is
unknown! A large variety of weather patterns can lead to tornadoes; and often, similar patterns
may produce no severe weather at all. To further complicate it, the various computer models
we use days in advance can have major biases and flaws when the forecaster tries to interpret
them on the scale of thunderstorms. As the event gets closer, the forecast usually (but not
always) loses some uncertainty and narrows down to a more precise threat area. [At SPC, this is
the transition from outlook to mesoscale discussion to watch.] Real-time weather observations
-- from satellites, weather stations, balloon packages, airplanes, wind profilers and radar-
derived winds -- become more and more critical the sooner the thunderstorms are expected;
and the models become less important. To figure out where the thunderstorms will form, we
must do some hard, short-fuse detective work: Find out the location, strength and movement of
the fronts, drylines, outflows, and other boundaries between air masses which tend to provide
lift. Figure out the moisture and temperatures -- both near ground and aloft -- which will help
storms form and stay alive in this situation. Find the wind structures in the atmosphere which
can make a thunderstorm rotate as a supercell, then produce tornadoes. [Many supercells never
spawn a tornado!] Make an educated guess where the most favorable combination of
ingredients will be and when; then draw the areas and type the forecast. That sounds really
hard. What hardware and software tools do you use to help you forecast tornadoes? The most
important hardware for forecasting at the Storm Prediction Center is the human hand.
Numerous hand-drawn analyses of surface and upper-air data are still performed at SPC every
day so forecasters can be intimately familiar with the weather features. SPC forecasters also use
highperformance computer workstations (mainly running Linux and Windows), with a huge
variety of software to display the things we need to help us forecast severe weather. The variety
of those things is enormous: many kinds of computer model displays, satellite image loops,
radar displays, wind profiler and radar-wind plots, data from surface weather stations, upper air
data from balloons and planes, lightning strike plots, weather data tables, multiple-source
overlays, and more. It may sound trite; but by far, the most important software in the tornado
forecast process is within the human brain. The forecaster must use it to sort all that
information, toss out what is not needed, properly interpret what is needed, and put it into a
coherent form -- all on a time deadline. What is needed to be a good tornado forecaster? It all
starts with... 1. Motivation: Almost all severe storms forecasters are passionate about violent
weather, with an intense desire to learn about and become better at predicting it. For many, this
dates back into childhood -- a first-hand encounter with violent storms, images on TV or in
books and magazines, or even a deep attraction to storms which goes back too far to recall.
Others start out in other fields or college majors, then became fascinated with severe weather.
In any case, this desire leads to... 2. Education: Consistently good severe storms forecasters have
a solid educational background in atmospheric science which allows them to understand
"textbook" concepts of thunderstorm formation. They don't stop with their college education,
either. They constantly re-educate themselves in the latest discoveries about severe
thunderstorms and tornadoes -- reading scientific journal articles on cutting-edge research,
perhaps doing some research themselves. The understanding of storms which results lets the
forecaster think of "conceptual models" -- visualizations of what the storms will do and how. 3.
Flexibility: Because the atmosphere doesn't read textbooks or science journals, the forecaster
must adapt those "classroom" ideas to an endless variety of day-to-day situations which may
look a lot different. He or she also should be able to recognize when and why a forecast is not
working out, and make the right adjustments. These skills come from... 4. Experience: In
meteorology, history never repeats itself exactly. But certain types of situations do recur,
allowing the forecaster to set a mental benchmark for what to expect. From there, he or she can
better decide what data will be most important to examine, and what data will not be as
relevant to the situation. Experienced forecasters are able to learn how bad forecasts went
wrong and how good forecasts worked each time, building a more complete mental warehouse
of severe storm forecast knowledge as time passes. When the experience is continually blended
with motivation, flexibility and more education, he or she will keep improving as a forecaster.
What is the tornado forecast for next spring? Are there going to be tornadoes in Iowa the week
of next October 5? We just don't know. Tornado forecasting today and tomorrow is quite
difficult already. Specific severe weather forecasting more than days in advance is little more
than guessing, or using tornado climatology for the forecast area and time of year. For that
reason, there is no such thing as a long range severe storm or tornado forecast. There are
simply too many small-scale variables involved which we cannot reliably measure or model
weeks or months ahead of time; so no scientific forecasters even attempt them. Perhaps,
someday, the density of weather observations and atmospheric modeling capabilities will
advance enough to allow us to do severe storms forecasting many days out with some degree of
accuracy better than a coin toss. We are a long, long way from that kind of forecasting! What is
the role of Doppler radar in tornado forecasting? Each NWS forecast office uses output from at
least one Doppler radar in the area to help to determine if a warning is needed. Doppler radar
signatures can tell warning meteorologists a great deal about a thunderstorm's structure, but
usually can't see the tornado itself. This is because the radar beam gets too wide to resolve even
the biggest tornadoes within a few tens of miles after leaving the transmitter. Instead, a radar
indicates strong winds blowing toward and away from it in a way that tells forecasters, "An
intense circulation probably exists in this storm and a tornado is possible." Possible doesn't
mean certain, though. That is why local forecasters must also depend on spotter reports, SPC
forecast guidance on the general severe weather threat, and inhouse analysis of the weather
situation over the region containing thunderstorms, to make the best-informed warning
decisions. What was the first successful tornado forecast? Nobody knows when was the first
time someone claimed a tornado would occur in an area, and it happened. But the first
documented, successful tornado forecast by meteorologists was on March 25, 1948, by Air
Force Capt. (later Col.) Robert Miller and Major Ernest Fawbush. After they noticed striking
similarities in the developing weather pattern to others which produced tornadoes (including
the Tinker AFB, OK, tornado several days before), Fawbush and Miller advised their superior
officer of a tornado threat in central Oklahoma that evening. Compelled from above to issue a
yes/no decision on a tornado forecast after thunderstorms developed in western Oklahoma,
they put out the word of possible tornadoes, and the base carried out safety precautions. A few
hours later, despite the tiny odds of a repeat, the second tornado in five days directly hit the
base. For more insight into this event, Charlie Crisp has transcribed the late Col. Miller's
recollections of the event; and they are now online. What is the history of tornado forecasting?
It's too long and eventful to summarize here; but there is an online guide at NSSL, as well as a
timeline of SELS and SPC, and a history of the SPC that provide insight into how tornado
prediction has evolved. There is also an entire book devoted to the subject: Scanning the Skies :
A History of Tornado Forecasting by Marlene Bradford (hardcover - March 2001). Some libraries,
bookstores and online book sellers carry this comprehensive and detailed history work. Was
tornado forecasting once banned in the U.S.? Yes. Before 1950, at various stages of
development of the Weather Bureau, the use of the word "tornado" in forecasts was at times
strongly discouraged and at other times forbidden, because of a fear that predicting tornadoes
may cause panic. This was in an era when very little was known about tornadoes compared to
today, by both scientists and the public at large. Tornadoes were, for most, dark and mysterious
menaces of unfathomable power, fast-striking monsters from the sky capable of sudden and
unpredictable acts of death and devastation. As the weather patterns which led to major
tornado events became better documented and researched, the mystery behind predicting
them began to clear -- a process which still is far from complete, of course. In 1950, the Weather
Bureau revoked the ban (PDF) on mentioning tornadoes in forecasts. How has SPC performed
with tornado forecasting? By most measures, SPC (formerly SELS, NSSFC) has improved its
tornado forecasting over the past few decades. There are many ways to objectively gauge
forecast performance -- for example, verifying tornado watches with tornado reports and both
watch types by all severe reports. The general trend from 1985-2003 has been for a greater
percentage of tornado watches to contain tornadoes. TORNADO DAMAGE How is tornado
damage rated? The most widely used method worldwide, for over three decades, was the F-
scale developed by Dr. T. Theodore Fujita. In the U.S., and probably elsewhere within a few
years, the new Enhanced F-scale is becoming the standard for assessing tornado damage. In
Britain, there is a scale similar to the original F-scale but with more divisions; for more info, go
to the TORRO scale website. In both original F- and TORRO-scales, the wind speeds are based on
calculations of the Beaufort wind scale and have never been scientifically verified in real
tornadoes. Enhanced F-scale winds are derived from engineering guidelines but still are only
judgmental estimates. Because: 1. Nobody knows the "true" wind speeds at ground level in
most tornadoes, and 2. The amount of wind needed to do similar-looking damage can vary
greatly, even from block to block or building to building, ...damage rating is (at best) an exercise
in educated guessing. Even experienced damage-survey meteorologists and wind engineers can
and often do disagree among themselves on a tornado's strength. Who surveys tornado
damage? What's the criteria for the National Weather Service to do a survey? This varies from
place to place; and there is no rigid criteria. The responsibility for damage survey decisions at
each NWS office usually falls on the Warning-Coordination Meteorologist (WCM) and/or the
Meteorologist in Charge (MIC). Budget constraints keep every tornado path from having a direct
ground survey by NWS personnel; so spotter, chaser and news accounts may be used to rate
relatively weak, remote or brief tornadoes. Killer tornadoes, those striking densely populated
areas, or those generating reports of exceptional damage are given highest priority for ground
surveys. Most ground surveys involve the WCM and/or forecasters not having shift
responsibility the day of the survey. For outbreaks and unusually destructive events -- usually
only a few times a year -- the NWS may support involvement by highly experienced damage
survey experts and wind engineers from elsewhere in the country. Aerial surveys are expensive
and usually reserved for tornado events with multiple casualties and/or massive degrees of
damage. Sometimes, local NWS offices may have a cooperative agreement with local media or
police to use their helicopters during surveys. How can a tornado destroy one house and leave
the next one almost unscratched? Most of the time, this happens either with multiple-vortex
tornadoes or very small, intense single-vortex tornadoes. The winds in most of a multivortex
tornado may only be strong enough to do minor damage to a particular house. But one of the
smaller embedded subvortices, perhaps only a few dozen feet across, may strike the house next
door with winds over 200 mph, causing complete destruction. Also, there can be great
differences in construction from one building to the next, so that even in the same wind speed,
one may be flattened while the other is barely nicked. For example, a flimsy, unanchored mobile
home may be obliterated while all surrounding objects suffer little or no damage. How do
tornadoes do some weird things, like drive straw into trees, strip road pavement and drive
splinters into bricks? The list of bizarre things attributed to tornadoes is almost endless. Much of
it is folklore; but there are some weird scenes in tornado damage. Asphalt pavement may strip
when tornado winds sandblast the edges with gravel and other small detritus, eroding the
edges and causing chunks to peel loose from the road base. Storm chasers and damage
surveyors have observed this phenomenon often after the passage of a violent tornado. With a
specially designed cannon, wind engineers at Texas Tech University have fired boards and other
objects at over 100 mph into various types of construction materials, duplicating some of the
kinds of "bizarre" effects, such as wood splinters embedded in bricks. Intense winds can bend a
tree or other objects, creating cracks in which debris (e.g., hay straw) becomes lodged before
the tree straightens and the crack tightens shut again. All bizarre damage effects have a physical
cause inside the roiling maelstrom of tornado winds. We don't fully understand what some of
those causes are yet, however; because much of it is almost impossible to simulate in a lab. I've
heard about tornadoes picking up objects and carrying them for miles. Does this happen? Who
does research on it? Yes, numerous tornadoes have lofted (mainly light) debris many miles into
the sky, which was then carried by middle- and upper-atmospheric winds for long distances. The
vertical winds in tornadoes can be strong enough to temporarily levitate even heavy objects if
they have a large face to the wind or flat sides (like roofs, walls, trees and cars), and are strong
enough to carry lightweight objects tens of thousands of feet high. Though the heaviest objects,
such as railroad cars, can only be airborne for short distances, stories of checks and other
papers found over 100 miles away are often true. The Worcester MA tornado of 9 June 1953
carried mattress pieces high into the thunderstorm, where they were coated in ice, before they
fell into Boston Harbor. Pilots reported seeing debris fluttering through the air at high altitude
near the thunderstorm which spawned the Ruskin Heights MO tornado of 20 May 1957. There
is a research group at the University of Oklahoma which studies tornado debris flight. If you
personally know of a case of tornado debris carried long-distance, they have a hotline you can
call to report it. How does the damage from tornadoes compare to that of hurricanes? The
differences are in scale. Even though winds from the strongest tornadoes far exceed that from
the strongest hurricanes, hurricanes typically cause much more damage individually and over a
season, and over far bigger areas. Economically, tornadoes cause about a tenth as much
damage per year, on average, as hurricanes. Hurricanes tend to cause much more overall
destruction than tornadoes because of their much larger size, longer duration and their greater
variety of ways to damage property. The destructive core in hurricanes can be tens of miles
across, last many hours and damage structures through storm surge and rainfall-caused
flooding, as well as from wind. Tornadoes, in contrast, tend to be a few hundred yards in
diameter, last for minutes and primarily cause damage from their extreme winds. Where can I
find free pictures of tornado damage? We have some public domain images of typical examples
of F0 through F5 tornado damage linked from this FAQ's F-scale page. Otherwise, public-domain
tornado damage pictures are scattered among various National Weather Service websites.
Because web addresses change so often, we don't maintain a listing of them here; but you can
start your search at this map of all NWS websites. Browse around for damage survey photos in
severe weather and tornado event sections of local NWS office pages; and please make sure the
photos are not copyrighted before using them. If there are any doubts, or to get permission to
use copyrighted material, e-mail the webmaster at that office. If you want hardcopies for
research projects, the best bet is to download and print public-domain images from a high-
quality color printer. Even when using public-domain images, you should give proper credit to
the source. Historical archives at local and college libraries might have public-domain hardcopy
prints of historical tornado damage in your area. TORNADO SAFETY What should I do in case of
a tornado? That depends on where you are. This list of tornado safety tips covers most
situations. What is a tornado watch? A tornado watch defines an area shaped like a
parallelogram, where tornadoes and other kinds of severe weather are possible in the next
several hours. It does not mean tornadoes are imminent -- just that you need to be alert, and to
be prepared to go to safe shelter if tornadoes do happen or a warning is issued. This is the time
to turn on local TV or radio, turn on and set the alarm switch on your weather radio, make sure
you have ready access to safe shelter, and make your friends and family aware of the potential
for tornadoes in the area. The Storm Prediction Center issues tornado and severe thunderstorm
watches; here is an example. For more information on tornado watches and other SPC bulletins,
go here. What is a tornado warning? A tornado warning means that a tornado has been
spotted, or that Doppler radar indicates a thunderstorm circulation which can spawn a tornado.
When a tornado warning is issued for your town or county, take immediate safety precautions.
local NWS offices issue tornado warnings. Do mobile homes attract tornadoes? Of course not. It
may seem that way, considering most tornado deaths occur in them, and that some of the most
graphic reports of tornado damage come from mobile home communities. The reason for this is
that mobile homes are, in general, much easier for a tornado to damage and destroy than well-
built houses and office buildings. A brief, relatively weak tornado which may have gone
undetected in the wilderness -- or misclassified as severe straight-line thunderstorm winds
while doing minor damage to sturdy houses -- can blow a mobile home apart. Historically,
mobile home parks have been reliable indicators, not attractors, of tornadoes. Long ago, I was
told to open windows to equalize pressure. Now I have heard that's a bad thing to do. Which is
right? Opening the windows is absolutely useless, a waste of precious time, and can be very
dangerous. Don't do it. You may be injured by flying glass trying to do it. And if the tornado hits
your home, it will blast the windows open anyway. I've seen a video of people running under a
bridge to ride out a tornado. Is that safe? Absolutely not! Stopping under a bridge to take
shelter from a tornado is a very dangerous idea, for several reasons: 1. Deadly flying debris can
still be blasted into the spaces between bridge and grade -- and impaled in any people hiding
there. 2. Even when strongly gripping the girders (if they exist), people may be blown loose, out
from under the bridge and into the open -- possibly well up into the tornado itself. Chances for
survival are not good if that happens. 3. The bridge itself may fail, peeling apart and creating
large flying objects, or even collapsing down onto people underneath. The structural integrity of
many bridges in tornado winds is unknown -- even for those which may look sturdy. 4. Whether
or not the tornado hits, parking on traffic lanes is illegal and dangerous to yourself and others. It
creates a potentially deadly hazard for others, who may plow into your vehicle at full highway
speeds in the rain, hail, and/or dust. Also, it can trap people in the storm's path against their
will, or block emergency vehicles from saving lives. The people in that infamous video were
extremely fortunate not to have been hurt or killed. They were actually not inside the tornado
vortex itself, but instead in a surface inflow jet -- a small belt of intense wind flowing into the
base of the tornado a few dozen yards to their south. Even then, flying debris could have caused
serious injury or death. More recently, on 3 May 1999, two people were killed and several
others injured outdoors in Newcastle and Moore OK, when a violent tornado blew them out
from under bridges on I-44 and I-35. Another person was killed that night in his truck, which
was parked under a bridge. For more information, meteorologist Dan Miller of NWS Duluth has
assembled 25-slide online presentation about this problem. So if I'm in a car, which is supposed
to be very unsafe, and shouldn't get under a bridge, what can I do? Vehicles are notorious as
death traps in tornadoes, because they are easily tossed and destroyed. Either leave the vehicle
for sturdy shelter or drive out of the tornado's path. When the traffic is jammed or the tornado
is bearing down on you at close range, your only option may be to park safely off the traffic
lanes, get out and find a sturdy building for shelter, if possible. If not, lie flat in a low spot, as far
from the road as possible (to avoid flying vehicles). However, in open country, the best option is
to escape if the tornado is far away. If the traffic allows, and the tornado is distant, you probably
have time to drive out of its path. Watch the tornado closely for a few seconds compared to a
fixed object in the foreground (such as a tree, pole, or other landmark). If it appears to be
moving to your right or left, it is not moving toward you. Still, you should escape at right angles
to its track: to your right if it is moving to your left, and vice versa -- just to put more distance
between you and its path. If the tornado appears to stay in the same place, growing larger or
getting closer -- but not moving either right or left -- it is headed right at you. You must take
shelter away from the car or get out of its way fast! I have a basement, and my friend said to go
to the southwest corner in a tornado. Is that good? Not necessarily. The SW corner is no safer
than any other part of the basement, because walls, floors and furniture can collapse (or be
blown) into any corner. The "safe southwest corner" is an old myth based on the belief that,
since tornadoes usually come from the SW, debris will preferentially fall into the NE side of the
basement. There are several problems with this concept, including: 1. Tornadoes are not
straight-line winds, even on the scale of a house, so the strongest wind may be blowing from
any direction; and 2. Tornadoes themselves may arrive from any direction. In a basement, the
safest place is under a sturdy workbench, mattress or other such protection -- and out from
under heavy furniture or appliances resting on top of the floor above. What is a safe room? So-
called "safe rooms" are reinforced small rooms built in the interior of a home, which are
fortified by concrete and/or steel to offer extra protection against tornadoes, hurricanes and
other severe windstorms. They can be built in a basement, or if no basement is available, on the
ground floor. In existing homes, interior bathrooms or closets can be fortified into "safe rooms"
also. FEMA has more details online. What about community tornado shelters? Community
tornado shelters are excellent ideas for apartment complexes, schools, mobile home parks,
factories, office complexes and other facilities where large groups of people live, work or study.
FEMA has some excellent design and construction guidance for these kinds of shelters; and a
licensed engineer can help customize them to the needs of your facility. What about tornado
safety in sports stadiums or outdoor festivals? Excellent question -- and a very, very disturbing
one to many meteorologists. Tornadoes have passed close to such gatherings on a few
occasions, including a horse race in Omaha on 6 May 1975 and a crowded dog track in West
Memphis AR on 14 December 1987. A supercell without a tornado hit a riverside festival in Ft.
Worth in 1995, catching over 10,000 people outdoors and bashing many of them with hail
bigger than baseballs. Just in the last few years, tornadoes have hit the football stadium for the
NFL Tennessee Titans, and the basketball arena for the NBA Utah Jazz. Fortunately, they were
both nearly empty of people at the time. There is the potential for massive death tolls if a
stadium or fairground is hit by a tornado during a concert, festival or sporting event -- even with
a warning in effect. Fans may never know about the warning; and even if they do, mass-panic
could ensue and result in casualties even if the tornado doesn't hit. Stadium and festival
managers should work with local emergency management officials to develop a plan for
tornado emergencies -- both for crowd safety during the watch and warning stages, and (similar
to a terrorism plan) for dealing with mass casualties after the tornado. I am a school
administrator, and I don't know where to start with developing a safety plan. Can you help?
Gladly. Every school is different, so a safety plan which works fine for one may not be well-
suited for another. There is a website with preparedness tips for school administrators which
can provide helpful tips in devising a safety plan. These strategies can be adapted for nursing
homes, dorms, barracks and similar structures as well. I am seeking advice to protect
employees in a large, one-story commercial building that has pre-poured cement outer walls
and a metal roof. We have no basement, the interior offices are drywall partitions with a
dropped ceiling and there does not appear to be any area that is secure. The local fire
department has no suggestions. This manner of construction is very common; however, it's hard
to know the integrity of any particular building without an engineering analysis, preferably by
hiring a specialist with experience in wind engineering. My experience doing damage surveys is
that large-span, pre-fab, concrete and metal beam buildings are very sturdy up to a "break
point" -- which can vary a lot from site to site -- but then crumple quickly and violently once that
threshold is reached. A concrete-lined (and -topped) safe room with no windows is
recommended. This is an emergency bunker that may double as a restroom, break room or
employee lounge, but should be big enough to fit all occupants in the event of a warning. For
more information on safe rooms, see FEMA's safe room page, which deals mainly with
residential construction, but which can be adapted for office use. As noted there, the Wind
Engineering Research Center at Texas Tech University also provides technical guidance about
shelters. Their toll free number is 1-(888) 946-3287, ext. 336. What would happen if a large,
violent tornado hit a major city today? This has happened on several occasions, including in
parts of Oklahoma City on May 3, 1999. Because of excellent, timely watches and warnings and
intense media coverage of the Oklahoma tornado long before it hit, only 36 people were killed.
The damage toll exceeded $1 billion. Still, it did not strike downtown, and passed over many
miles of undeveloped land. Moving the same path north or south in the same area may have led
to much greater death and damage tolls. The threat exists for a far worse disaster! Placing the
same tornado outbreak in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, especially during rush hour gridlock
(with up to 62,000 vehicles stuck in the path), the damage could triple what was done in
Oklahoma. There could be staggering death tolls in the hundreds or thousands, and
overwhelmed emergency services. Ponder the prospect of such a tornado's path in downtown
Dallas, for example. The North Texas Council of Governments and NWS Ft. Worth has compiled
a very detailed study of several such violent tornado disaster scenarios in the Metroplex, which
could be adapted to other major metro areas as well. Could we have some sort of alert system
where a computer automatically calls people in a tornado warning to let them know they could
be in danger? This idea has some merit. Right now, though, there are several logistical
problems. First, a tornado may take out phone lines, or the power to run them. Barring that, the
phone network reaches saturation pretty easily if someone (or something) tries to try to dial
thousands of numbers at once. Finally, people would need to be patient and willing to accept a
majority of false alarm calls. Most tornado warnings do not contain tornadoes, because of the
uncertainties built into tornado detection which we can't yet help. And even when a tornado
happens, it usually hits only a tiny fraction of the warned area (again, because of forecasting
uncertainties); so most people called by the automated system would not be directly hit. I
recently moved from the Plains and noticed that there are no "tornado warning" sirens here. Is
this because tornadoes don't occur here? Isn't it required to have sirens everywhere? Siren
policy seems to vary a lot from place to place; and it is something over which the National
Weather Service has no control. There is no nationwide requirement for tornado sirens. The
NWS issues watches and warnings; but it is up to the local governments to have a community
readiness system in place for their citizens. In conversations with emergency managers and
spotter coordinators, I have found that the two most common reasons for a lack of sirens are
low budgets and the perception that tornadoes cannot happen in an area. The latter is false;
and the former is a matter of fiscal priorities. Your city and/or county emergency manager
would be the first person to query about the tornado preparedness program in your
community. Our office would like to print signs (universal symbol image type signs) similar to
"emergency exit," "fire extinguisher," etc. that could be used to identify designated tornado
shelter areas. Can you provide me with a graphic or something I can use? Sure! There isn't a
universal tornado shelter symbol yet. Any such sign should be very bold and noticeable -- yet
designed to be simple, with minimal visual clutter, so even a small child can recognize it. In
response to this question, here is one possible tornado shelter sign which may be printed and
used freely. There are also versions with arrows pointing right, left, up, and down. The signs
ideally should be printed in color, on heavy card stock or sticker paper for durability.
HISTORICAL TORNADOES What were the deadliest U.S. tornadoes? The "Tri-state" tornado of 18
March 1925 killed 695 people as it raced along at 60-73 mph in a 219 mile long track across
parts of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, producing F5 damage. The death toll is an estimate based
on the work of Grazulis (1993); older references have different counts. This event also holds the
known record for most tornado fatalities in a single city or town: at least 234 at Murphysboro IL.
The 25 deadliest tornadoes on record are listed here. We also have web links related to this and
other major tornado events. What were the deadliest U.S. tornado days? On 3 April 1974, the
main day of the two-day "Super Outbreak," tornadoes killed 308 people. We have two lists of
the top 15 deadliest tornado days since 1950, one from midnight to midnight CST (by calendar
day, Central Standard Time), then from 12 UTC to 12 UTC (the "convective day" for SPC
outlooks). Because some tornado outbreaks persist well into the night and following morning,
one can slice and dice the time sampling in many ways, and come up with different numbers.
These are the two most common measures of a "day" that SPC has used, historically. What was
the biggest outbreak of tornadoes? 147 tornadoes touched down in 13 U.S. states on 3 and 4
April, 1974. Here is a map of them , with F-scale damage plotted beside each. [One more
tornado touched down in Canada at Windsor ON, then lifted as it entered MI, for a total of 148.
Since it did no damage in the U.S., it is not counted in the U.S. tornado database used to plot
our map.] The outbreak killed 310 in the U.S., 8 in Canada, with 5454 U.S. injuries and 23 hurt in
Canada. 48 of the tornadoes were killers. Seven produced damage rated F5 -- the maximum
possible -- and 23 more were rated F4. This was one of only two outbreaks with over 100
confirmed tornadoes, the other being with Hurricane Beulah in 1967 (115 tornadoes). In 1999,
NOAA Public Affairs created a large website on the 1974 superoutbreak in commemoration of
its 25th anniversary. SPC also has a list of web links devoted to this and other major tornado
events. What was the biggest known tornado? The Hallam, Nebraska F4 tornado of 22 May
2004 is the newest record-holder for peak width, at nearly two and a half miles, as surveyed by
Brian Smith of NWS Omaha. This is probably close to the maximum size for tornadoes; but it is
possible that larger, unrecorded ones have occurred. What single month had the most
tornadoes? The record for most tornadoes in any month (since modern tornado record keeping
began in 1950) was set in May 2003, with 543 tornadoes confirmed in the final numbers. This
easily broke the old mark of 399, set in June 1992. For more on the most active tornado month,
see the May 2003 Tornado Statistics page. What was the strongest tornado? What is the
highest wind speed in a tornado? Nobody knows. Tornado wind speeds have only been directly
recorded in the weaker ones, because strong and violent tornadoes destroy weather
instruments. Mobile Doppler radars such as the OU Doppler on Wheels have remotely sensed
tornado wind speeds above ground level as high as about 302 mph (on 3 May 1999 near Bridge
Creek OK) -- the highest winds ever found near earth's surface by any means. [That tornado
caused F5 damage.] But ground-level wind speeds in the most violent tornadoes have never
been directly measured. What was the costliest tornado? The Topeka (KS) tornado of 8 Jun
1966 is the current record holder, when adjusted for inflation, at $1,599,537,000 in 2007
dollars. The Bridge Creek-Moore-Oklahoma City-Midwest City, OK, tornado of 3 May 1999
currently ranks first in actual dollars but third when inflation adjusted. Recent forensic work by
Harold Brooks of NSSL has established that a Georgia tornado in 1973, which was listed here,
had a large multiplication error in Storm Data. A top-10 damage listing is online here. Do you
have a list of EF5 and F5 tornadoes? Yes, and here it is. Remember: Because the only way we
can compare all tornadoes is by whatever damage they caused, and EF5/F5 damage is only
possible when tornadoes hit well-built structures, the true "violence" of most historical
tornadoes is unknown -- especially before the middle to late 20th century. Where can I find
stories and descriptions of historic tornadoes? There is a partial list of links to websites
dedicated to individual tornado events here at the SPC. Otherwise, start at your local library.
Check the library's historical archives. It helps when searching online or microfilm newspaper
records to know the date and location of the tornado(es). On the Internet, a search engine can
help you find info on tornado events. Try different combinations of keywords like "Oak Lawn
tornado" and "Illinois tornadoes," for example, if searching for online material on a tornado in
Oak Lawn IL. For places away from your home area, use the Internet search engines; or write or
e-mail local and university libraries in the area the tornado(es) occurred. Many larger city and
university libraries have a copy of the book Significant Tornadoes, 1680-1991 by Thomas P.
Grazulis -- an excellent source for stories about thousands of tornadoes in U.S. history. Tom's
online site at The Tornado Project also has some historical tornado descriptions, though far
fewer than the book. What tornadoes have killed people this year? Last year or other years?
SPC keeps online maps and tables of killer tornadoes for recent years here. Most of this year's
information is preliminary and may change when the final storm summaries are sent to the
National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) by local National Weather Service offices. Information for
all tornadoes and severe weather events -- including killer tornadoes -- is provided by month
(and organized by state) in the NCDC publication Storm Data. Will historical tornadoes be
assigned Enhanced F-scale ratings? Probably not. To get a consistent climatology, records and
descriptions of tens of thousands of tornadoes would have to be examined one by one, and
there are neither plans nor money nor staffing at any tornado-related office for such a gigantic
task. However, it certainly is possible that individual tornadoes or outbreaks may be examined
for Enhanced F-scale rating from time to time, as interested researchers decide to revisit specific
events of historic significance. Tornadoes from February 2007 onward will be rated using the
Enhanced F-scale and can be compared to each other in that way. Have there been instances of
ships or boats being capsized or badly damaged by tornadoes (waterspouts)? Yes. Watercraft
are especially dangerous in tornadoes because of the open and unprotected exposure, difficulty
of reaching safe shelter and direct risk of drowning. On 1 Jul 1814, a tornado moved off land
into Charleston SC harbor, hitting the anchored schooner Alligator. The "Gator" sank and killed
25 of 40 crew. This is the deadliest marine-tornado event in U.S. records. On 17 Jun 1978, the
tour boat Whippoorwill, on Pomona Lake KS, was capsized by a tornado, killing 16. NOTE:
Historical tornado information used here comes from both the SPC database and Grazulis
(1993). TORNADO CLIMATOLOGY How many tornadoes hit the US yearly? About one thousand.
The actual average is unknown, because tornado spotting and reporting methods have changed
so much in the last several decades that the officially recorded tornado climatologies are
believed to be incomplete. Also, in the course of recording thousands of tornadoes, errors are
bound to occur. Events can be missed or mis-classified; and some non-damaging tornadoes in
remote areas could still be unreported. How many tornadoes have there been in the US this
year and how does it compare to previous years? Killer tornadoes? Such tornado report totals
are in an online table of monthly tornado statistics at the SPC. Remember, those are preliminary
numbers which may be amended at any time. How many people are killed every year by
tornadoes? How do most deaths happen in tornadoes? On average, tornadoes kill about 60
people per year -- most from flying or falling (crushing) debris. What is tornado season?
Tornado season usually means the peak period for historical tornado reports in an area, when
averaged over the history of reports. There is a general northward shift in "tornado season" in
the U.S. from late winter through mid summer. The peak period for tornadoes in the southern
plains, for example, is during May into early June. On the Gulf coast, it is earlier during the
spring; in the northern plains and upper Midwest, it is June or July. Remember: tornadoes can
happen any time of year if the conditions are right! If you want to know the tornado peak
periods for your area, Harold Brooks of NSSL has prepared numerous tornado probability
graphics, which include distribution during the year. What is Tornado Alley? Tornado Alley is a
nickname in the popular media for a broad swath of relatively high tornado occurrence in the
central U.S. Various Tornado Alley maps which you may see can look different because tornado
occurrence can be measured many ways -- by all tornadoes, tornado county-segments, strong
and violent tornadoes only, and databases with different time periods. Most recently,
Concannon, et al., have prepared a "Tornado Alley" map using significant tornado data.
Remember, this is only a map of greatest incidence. Violent or killer tornadoes do happen
outside this Tornado Alley every year. Tornadoes can occur almost anywhere in the U.S.,
including west of the Rockies and east of the Appalachians -- and even in Canada and overseas.
Does "global warming" cause tornadoes? No. Thunderstorms do. The harder question may be,
"Will climate change influence tornado occurrence?" The best answer is: We don't know.
According to the National Science and Technology Council's Scientific Assessment on Climate
Change, "Trends in other extreme weather events that occur at small spatial scales -- such as
tornadoes, hail, lightning, and dust storms -- cannot be determined at the present time due to
insufficient evidence." This is because tornadoes are short-fused weather, on the time scale of
seconds and minutes, and a space scale of fractions of a mile across. In contrast, climate trends
take many years, decades, or millennia, spanning vast areas of the globe. The numerous
unknowns dwell in the vast gap between those time and space scales. Climate models cannot
resolve tornadoes or individual thunderstorms. They can indicate broad scale shifts in three
favorable ingredients for severe thunderstorms (moisture, instability and wind shear), but as
any severe weather forecaster can attest, having some favorable factors in place doesn't
guarantee tornadoes. Our physical understanding indicates mixed signals -- some ingredients
may increase (instability), while others may decrease (shear), in a warmer world. The other key
ingredient (lift), and to varying extents moisture, instability and shear, depend mostly on on day-
to-day patterns, and often, even minute-to-minute local weather. Finally, tornado recordkeeping
itself also has been prone to many errors and uncertainties, doesn't exist for most of the world,
and even in the U.S., only covers several decades in detailed form. Does El Nino cause
tornadoes? No. Neither does La Nina. Both are major changes in sea surface temperature in the
tropical Pacific which occur over the span of months. U.S. tornadoes happen thousands of miles
away on the order of seconds and minutes. El Nino does adjust large-scale weather patterns.
But between that large scale and tornadoes, there are way too many variables to say
conclusively what role El Nino (or La Nina) has in changing tornado risk; and it certainly does not
directly cause tornadoes.

A few studies have shown some loose associations between La Nina years and regional trends
in tornado numbers from year to year; but that still doesn't prove cause and effect. Weak
associations by year or season may be as close as the ENSO-to-tornado connection can get --
because there are so many things on the scales of states, counties and individual thunderstorms
which can affect tornado formation. For more detailed information, see The Relationship
between El Nino, La Nina and United States Tornado Activity, a research paper by Schaefer and
Tatom, or this paper by Cook and Schaefer on wintertime tornadoes and the ENSO cycle. What
city has been hit by the most tornadoes? Oklahoma City. The exact count varies because city
limits and tornado reporting practices have changed over the years; but the known total is now
over 100. Mike Branick of the Norman NWS has prepared a detailed listing of 123 OKC-area
tornadoes, updated through 2008. Another way to measure tornado count and avoid the
vagaries of political boundaries is to use tornado hits within a radius; though this method will
include tornadoes in some nearby communities. Frank Tatom has compiled such a list, using
affected land area within a 20 mile radius of downtown of each city with at least 100,000
people.

Through 2003, Oklahoma City also led by this measure, followed by Huntsville AL. I noticed the
word "preliminary" used a lot in the SPC tornado stats, and "final" too. What do those mean?
Tornado data usually reaches SPC first from local storm reports (LSRs), warnings or other
bulletins sent by local NWS forecast offices. Such reports are usually sent within the first day or
two after a severe weather event, before all the information on a tornado is known. In fact,
some tornado information might not be known for many weeks or months -- for example, if
someone who was injured dies from his injuries a long time afterward. That is why we call all
tornado data "preliminary" until the National Climatic Data Center publication Storm Data is
completed. Storm Data contains the "final" information on all severe weather events. How
many tornadoes have there been in my state or county? The actual number is unknown,
because it is likely that (throughout the course of history) many tornadoes were either not
reported or erroneously categorized. Recorded tornadoes are listed and described in the
National Climatic Data Center publication Storm Data. NCDC is developing an interactive online
severe weather database which you can use to search your state and/or county for tornado and
other severe weather reports. NOTE: NCDC tornado data is not for whole tornadoes, but for
county-segments; and there are still some incorrect county codings or other errors as
documented by Doug Speheger of NWS Norman. What are county-segments in NCDC tornado
data? A county-segment is that portion of a tornado's path within a single county. If a tornado
stays in one county, then a "tornado" is the same as a "segment." But this also means that
tornadoes are counted twice when they cross into another county, three times when they enter
a third county, and so forth.

The reason for county-segment tornado recordkeeping is that the National Weather Service
verifies tornado warnings by county. So when you look at NCDC tornado databases or the NWS
Natural Hazard Statistics (based on Storm Data), you are not counting tornadoes, but instead
county-segments of tornado tracks. This causes inflation of the tornado totals often reported by
media and others who do not notice this important distinction. Where else can I obtain
climatological tornado data? Besides the NCDC online lookup, an increasing number of local
NWS offices have posted tornado stats for their regions. [Reminder: NCDC and most local data
are broken down by county path segments and not whole tornadoes.] State-by-state value-
added data can also be obtained from the Tornado Project databases. Why do ratings from the
original F-scale differ between SPC and others' tornado records? Both original F-scale and the
Enhanced F-scale are based on a subjective judgment of damage intensity, but the EF-scale has
very specific guidelines for rating an assortment of damage targets. By contrast, the F-scale only
specified "well built homes" with all else left to guesswork. Consistency was a major problem as
well, because hundreds of people rated tornadoes for Storm Data during the F-scale era.
Currently and in recent decades, damage ratings for the "official" database are made by
meteorologists at each local forecast office where tornadoes are reported. Sometimes, first-
hand damage surveys are done, but because of travel budget constraints, ratings often must be
made from spotter, chaser and/or media accounts. In order to assign F-scales to tornadoes from
before about 1978 (the year varies from state to state), NSSFC contracted with college students
to cross reference the NSSFC file with newspaper articles. When information that conflicted
with Storm Data were uncovered, a judgment call was made as to what most likely occurred;
and if necessary, the NSSFC information was "corrected" in the final data base. Also, several
"new" tornadoes (previously unreported ones) were uncovered and added to the record. There
were enough of these changes that the NSSFC (now SPC) database sometimes has differences
with Storm Data, even before accounting for the county segments of paths done at NCDC. Tom
Grazulis (1993) sometimes changed the "official" tornado ratings for Tornado Project records
based on his judgment of damage from historical tornado accounts in newspapers and
photographs. So, with all this interpretation going on, it is easy to see how tornado records have
become inconsistent for many events.

HOW HURRYCANE EFFECTS PEOPLE

Hurricane winds can do a lot of the damage, but storm surges, waves, river floods and rain can
also cause a lot of destruction. The total damage depends on a number of factors, such as the
size of the storm, its intensity and the angle of approach.

Falling buildings can cause injury or death, but many hurricane impacts take place after the
storm is over. Damaged or destroyed infrastructure can have negative economic effects on a
community, which often last for years after the storm has passed.

Over the years, the State of Maine has seen its share of severe weather extremes. From
blizzards in the winter to severe thunderstorms in the summer. We have experienced tornadoes,
floods, drought, and yes, Hurricanes! People who live in this part of northern New England have
become quite acclimated to the weather, and have learned to tolerate it. New England weather
was once described by Mark Twain who said: I reverently believe that the maker who made us
all, makes everything in New England but the weather. I dont know who makes thatThe
weather is always doing something thereI have counted one hundred and thirty six different
kinds of weather inside of 24 hours. Though Maine is not considered a State known for its
tropical storms and hurricanes, it has had more than its share. Over the years, Maine has
endured some of the worst hurricanes to impact the east coast of the United States. In most
cases, the storms had weakened prior to their arrival, yet they still caused extensive damage,
injuries, and even deaths. Hurricanes can be devastating, but the threat to any one location in
Maine is quite small. Yet, it is the governments responsibility to be prepared for these events,
and to respond to the damage they create. In addition, it is also the responsibility of
government to aid in recovery, and to reduce the potential damage these storms create in the
future.

As an Emergency Management Director, it is my responsibility to prepare our local community

for all disasters and large scale emergencies. However, in order to prepare for these
emergencies, it is necessary to look to the past to see what has occurred, and to use this
information as guidance as to what could possibly happen again. This report outlines the past
history of hurricanes and tropical storms in Maine, and describes the impact these storms have
had on the State, and more specifically Androscoggin County. As the nature of this report can
become quite technical, I have attempted to keep the material light and hopefully
informative. This report contains information gathered from several sources, and has been
made as accurate as possible. In the next chapter, I will provide some basic information on
hurricanes and their effects in order to give you some background on this subject. In
subsequent chapters, I will provide descriptions of the many storms that have had a major
impact on the area. This chronology dates back as early as 1635, and continues to the present.
Every effort has been made to depict an accurate account of the events that occurred. However,
I must note that accurate records were not kept until the late 1800s. Prior to that, only brief
overviews are provided. Will Maine experience the same type of devastation that was produced
by hurricanes such as Andrew, Hugo, or Camille? In my opinion, it is not very likely, but it is
possible Chapter 1 10 for this State to feel the effects of a major (Category 3 or higher)
hurricane at some point in the future. Only time will tell.

The hurricane is known as the Greatest Storm on Earth, and rightly so as these storms can
cause destruction over a wide area and can affect millions of lives during their brief life. The
word Hurricane comes from the Spanish word Hurcan which was originally derived from
colonial and Caribbean Indian tribal words for evil spirits. In many cultures, the word for
hurricane means Storm God, Devil, or God of Thunder and Lightning. Whatever the name,
the storm can strike fear into the bravest of souls, and those foolish enough to challenge the
storms can lose everything, including their life. Over the past 360 years, the average frequency
of tropical systems in Maine is one every 8 years. During that time, Maine has been visited by at
least 45 hurricanes or tropical storms. Several of these storms caused extensive damage, while
others caused only minor problems. During this same time period, there were several years in
which more than one storm hit the area. In other years, Maine was lucky not to have had even
one. However, not included in this number are the many close calls where tropical systems
have only produced lighter amounts of rain and wind. Why does this happen? Hurricanes are
affected by the earths climate, and tend come in cycles.

As an example of this; from 1800 to 1900, only 7 storms had a noticeable affect on Maine. But
from 1901 to the present, we have endured 30 notable storms, with 6 of them causing
extensive damage. Will this trend continue? No one knows for sure, but some forecasters
believe that we may experience an increase in stronger hurricanes due to global warming.
Others believe that the explanation would be that we have experienced a vast improvement in
the technology of detection and tracking of hurricanes. The State of Maine is located outside
the main hurricane belt, yet some of the most destructive storms of record have occurred there.
Storms such as Carol, Edna, Donna, and Bob are memorable examples. Where do these storms
form? They begin forming deep in the tropics as described in the next section. It must be noted
however, that not all tropical storms in Maine are considered bad. Some of these storms have
actually helped the people in the state by bringing an abundance of rain to the area. This
relieved droughts and invigorated an economy that relies on the rainfall and the rivers.
Wind is one of the most destructive forces in a hurricane. The wind is the result of pressure
differential between the center of the storm, and the air pressure surrounding it. This is referred
to as pressure gradient. The steeper the gradient, the stronger the winds will be. As a hurricane
passes over land, the wind speed diminishes rapidly due to friction. However, even these
reduced winds have the potential to cause destruction. To be considered hurricane force, winds
must be greater than 74 mph. Damage can come from the force of the wind on a structure or
from flying debris. Small items left outside, signs, roofing material, siding, etc. can become
missiles, some of which may cause damage. Prior to Hurricane Andrew, meteorologists believed
that strong wind gusts were responsible for the serious hurricane damage. However, T.
Theodore Fujita, an expert on tornadoes and creator of the Fujita Scale of destruction for
tornados, did extensive analysis of the damage caused by hurricane Andrew. He found that
there were eddies or whirlwinds that spun off of the eye wall. These eddies, are referred to as
Spin-up Vortices, and can produce winds in excess of 200 mph. These eddies become stronger
because of they are stretched vertically by strong convection. The maximum velocity of wind in
a hurricane can be computed using the following formula: V max =16 Pn-Po Where Pn =
Pressure outside of the hurricane (i.e. 1010 Mb in the tropics) and Po = The central pressure of
the storm. As an example: If a hurricane had a central pressure of 980 Mb. The calculation
would work out to be around 88 knots or around 101 mph. 21 Rain When we think of
hurricanes, we tend to think of strong winds. However, heavy rains also accompany these
storms. This heavy rain can cause flooding in a relatively short period of time, and is considered
the major threat to inland areas. It is not uncommon to find rainfall totals in excess of 6 inches
within a span of 6 to 8 hours. This can cause rivers and streams to rise rapidly, and to overflow
their banks. People caught unaware of this, may become victims of the flood waters. This rapid
rise of water is known as flash flooding. Hundreds of people each year die as the result of flash
flooding. Most of these events are associated with thunderstorms, however, they can and do
occur as the result of hurricane rains. Storm Surge For coastal areas, the storm surge is the most
destructive force of a hurricane and is responsible for 90% of the flooding deaths in a hurricane.
What is the storm surge? The storm surge is a dome of water spanning 50 to 100 miles in
diameter that moves in the same direction as the storm. It is caused by winds in the right
forward quadrant of the storm, forcing water in the same direction as the storms motion. The
lower atmospheric pressure over the water near the storm center also contributes to the height
of the storm surge. The lower the pressure in the storms center create a lesser atmospheric
pressure on the surface, and so the water tends to be higher than in surrounding areas. The
storm surge is also affected by the depth of the water. In the open ocean, the storm surge isnt
noticeable. However, when the water becomes shallow near land, the effects of the storm surge
are more clearly seen. The result is a wall of water that can inundate entire coastal cities that
have elevations close to sea level. The effect of a storm surge increases with several factors.
These include: v A Lower atmospheric pressure at the storms center v An increase in the radius
of maximum sustained winds, but not beyond 50 Km. v An increase in forward speed of the
storm, and v The decreasing slope of the ocean bottom Storm Tide This occurs if the storm
surge arrives at the same time as the normal high tide. The storm tide is the combination of the
storm surge and the high tide. As an example, a 10 foot storm surge added to a 10 foot tide
would create a storm tide of 20 feet. The storm tide and surge are accompanied by high waves
that batter an area of coastline as much as 100 miles wide. This is what occurred in 1938 in
Providence, Rhode Island that caused massive flooding of the entire city and killed hundreds of
people. Another example includes the 1900 storm in Galveston Texas that killed over 6,000
people. 22 Tornados As with thunderstorms, hurricanes often produce tornadoes. However,
these tornadoes are not as destructive as their mid-west cousins. Tornados most often are
embedded in the spiral rain bands of the storm, but they can also occur near the eye wall.
Tornados develop in the forward semi-circle of the hurricane, usually in the right front
quadrant. Hurricane tornados are not a major problem. This is primarily due to the fact that the
probability of the event affecting any given area is small. Also, the damage potential is less than
that of the sustained winds and gusts. Other Hazards There are several other hazards that are
associated with hurricanes. These include, live wires that have been blown down, ruptured gas
lines from damaged buildings, roads that have been undermined by flowing water, looting, and
injuries caused by traversing through damaged areas. Damage Potential SaffirSimpson
Damage Potential Scale In 1972, Robert Simpson, former Director of the National Hurricane
Center had difficulty describing to emergency management and disaster officials what to expect
for damage from approaching hurricanes. The determination was made that a scale was needed
to give disaster officials an idea of what to expect. Herbert Saffir, a consulting engineer who was
known as the father of the Miami building code was enlisted to work with Simpson on this
project. Together they created the Saffir-Simpson Damage Potential Scale that is used today. The
scale is broken down into five categories based on wind speed. A one on the scale would
indicate a minimal hurricane, while a five would indicate catastrophic damage. The scale was
introduced in public advisories in 1975, and is described below: Category 1 74-95 MPH
MINIMAL > 28.94 Hg. Damage is done primarily to shrubbery, trees, foliage, and unanchored
mobile homes.

No real damage to other structures, though there may be some damage to poorly constructed
signs. A storm surge of 4 to 5 feet above normal is to be expected. Lowlying coastal roads will
become inundated, and there would be minor pier damage. Some small craft might be torn
from their moorings in exposed anchorage. Category 2 96-110 MPH MODERATE 28.50 to
28.93 Hg. Considerable damage to shrubbery, tree foliage, and vegetation can be expected,
and some trees may be blown down. Major damage is possible to exposed mobile homes, and
extensive damage to poorly constructed signs. There may also be some damage to the roofing
materials, doors, and/or windows of buildings. A storm surge of 6 to 8 feet above normal can be
expected.
 Low-lying escape routes to inland areas can be cut off by rising water from 2 to 4 hours in
advance of the storm center. There can be considerable damage to piers, and marinas could be
flooded. Small craft will be torn 23 from their moorings in exposed anchorage. Evacuation of
some shoreline residences and low-lying island areas will be required. Category 3 111-130 MPH
EXTENSIVE 27.91 to 28.49 Hg. Foliage will be torn from trees and some large trees will be
blown down. Practically all poorly constructed signs will be blown down. There will be some
damage to roofing, doors, and windows. There may also be structural small residences and
utility buildings, with a minor amount of curtain-wall failures. Mobile homes can be destroyed.

A storm surge of 9 to 12 feet above normal can be expected that would cause serious flooding
along the coast. Many smaller structures along the coastline may be destroyed, and larger
structures may be damaged by battering waves and floating debris. Low-lying escape routes to
inland areas can be cut off by rising water from 3 to 5 hours in advance of the storm center. Flat
terrain 5 feet or less above sea level will be flooded inland up to 8 miles or more. Evacuation of
low-lying area residences within several blocks of the shoreline would possibly be required
Category 4 131-155 MPH EXTREME 27.17 to 27.90 Hg. Shrubs, trees, and signs are blown
down. There will be extensive damage to roofing materials, doors, and windows. Complete
failure of roofs on many small residences, and complete destruction of mobile homes. A storm
surge of 13 to 18 feet above normal can be expected. Flat terrain 10 feet or less above sea level
will be flooded as far as 6 miles. Major damage will occur to lower floors of structures near the
shoreline due to flooding and battering of waves and floating debris. Low-lying escape routes to
inland areas can be cut off by rising water from 3 to 5 hours in advance of the storm center.

Major erosion of beaches can be expected, and massive evacuation of all residences within 500
yards of the shoreline will possible be required. Evacuation of single story residences on low
ground within 2 miles of shore will be required. Category 5 155 MPH+ CATASTROPHIC < 27.17
Hg. Shrubs, trees, and signs will be blown down. Considerable damage to roofs, and very severe
damage to windows and doors can be expected. Complete failure of roofs on many small
residences and industrial buildings. Extensive shattering of glass in windows and doors, as well
as some complete building failures. Small buildings are overturned or blown away. Complete
destruction of mobile homes. A storm surge in excess of 18 feet above normal can be expected.
Major damage to the lower floors of all structures less than 15 feet above sea level and within
500 yards of shore. Low-lying escape routes to inland areas are cut off by rising water from 3 to
5 hours in advance of the storm center. Massive evacuation of residential areas on low ground
within 5 to 10 miles of shore possibly required.

How Damage Occurs The destructive power of a hurricane in one day is equivalent to the
detonation of approximately 800 atomic bombs. To put it another way, the power produced by
a hurricane in one day could supply the entire United States with electrical power for 6 months.
One of the ways this energy is dissipated is through wind. The pressure gradient or the
difference in central pressure to surrounding areas is responsible for creating the winds inside a
hurricane. When the wind blows over the surface of the water, the lack of 24 friction allows the
storm to maintain its intensity. However, if structures, trees, or other objects are placed in its
way, the wind will be dissipated but the energy is transferred into a force of destruction. There
are three main factors that affect damage to buildings. These are: v Aerodynamic forces v
Atmospheric pressure differential between the interior and exterior, and v The impact of
airborne debris (missiles) The most important factor affecting a structure is the aerodynamic
forces placed upon it.

When the air flows past a building, the shape of the roof creates an airfoil that in turn creates
lift, much like the wing of an airplane. This lifting action pulls upward on the roof, and also pulls
out on the sides of the structure As the wind speed increases, the force rises exponentially, and
is the reason why some structures begin to fail at lower wind speeds. Pressure differential also
acts on a building, but to a lesser degree. The pressure differential is proportional to the air
tightness of the building, or the rate at which changes to air pressure can be accommodated. In
other words, the tighter the house, the greater potential for damage due to pressure
differential. K.C. Meheta and his colleagues stated that in tornadoes conventional buildings are
not damaged by atmospheric pressure effects, but rather by forces due to aerodynamic effects
of wind. This gives credence to the idea that hurricane damage is primarily caused by the flow
of air around a structure rather than the difference in pressure. A more important factor
concerning pressure is the effects of internal ram air pressure.

When windows or doors fail, the air can enter a building and cause an increase in ram air
pressure within the structure. Herbert Saffir estimated that the ram air pressures can provide
interior forces of 1.5 times those of a fully enclosed building. These internal forces acting
outwardly on all sides of the structure. So if a window were to break, or a door was to be
opened, the force of air that comes into the house will increase the Aerodynamic Forces Acting
On A Building 25 pressure outwardly on the walls, and enhance the aerodynamic pull of air
surrounding the building. Hence, the greater likelihood of structural failure. In addition to the
ram air pressure differential, the force of the wind against an object also contributes to the
destruction. As the wind speed increases, the force against the object is squared. As an example
of this; If the wind blows at 25 mph, it will cause 1.6 pounds per square foot of force. On a
typical 4x 8 sheet of plywood, that translates into a force of around 50 pounds acting on the
wood. If we increased the wind speed by a factor of three to 75 mph, the force acting on the
plywood at that speed would be 450 pounds. If the wind were to increase to 125 mph, the force
would increase to 1,250 pounds.
As you can see, the amount of force acting on a structure can be tremendous, even at minimal
hurricane strength. Another, cause of damage to buildings is due to fluid acceleration. This
relates to the natural frequency of oscillation of some structures. The hurricane eddies are
unique in that they significantly contribute to the amplitude of oscillation. Most low rise
buildings are not susceptible to this. However, wires are affected which might put additional
stress on towers and poles. In addition, tall structures may be susceptible to this type of
damage. In essence, the back and forth movement of taller structures in the wind tends to
weaken them or cause them to over sway their limits, and cause them to collapse. Hurricane
Names The naming of hurricanes actually goes back several hundred years. In those days, the
storms were named after that particular days Saint. As an example of this would be the
Santa Ana Hurricane that hit Puerto Rico on July 26, 1825 or the San Felipe Hurricane on
September 13, 1876. In the early 1900s, a forecaster in Australia named hurricanes after
political figures he particularly disliked. He used this method so that he could describe the
storms characteristics such as causing great distress, or wandering aimlessly, and compare
them to their political counterparts Hurricanes are also known by different names in various
locations around the world.

In other areas, they are known as Typhoons, Cyclones, and Willy-Willys (Australia). The last one
was not very popular for obvious reasons. In Maine, the early storms were referred to as Gales,
Equinoctial Storms, or Line Storms. The latter two names referring to the time of the year and
the location from which these storms are born (referring to the equatorial line). In 1950, the
military began using the phonetic alphabet (ABLE, BAKER, CHARLIE, etc.) to name hurricanes.
This method was not very popular, and caused a lot of confusion. This plan was abandoned in
1953 for a more popular plan, the use of womens names. The idea for the use of womens
names to identify hurricanes came from a novel written in 1941 called Storm by George R.
Stewart. In this novel, a meteorologist referred to hurricanes by giving them ladys names.
During World War II, this became even more popular with military meteorologists. So in 1953,
the first list of womens names was developed and was placed in alphabetical order to identify
hurricanes.

Prior to 1886, accurate records on hurricanes became more difficult to find. However, thanks to
David Ludlum, a weather historian and author of Early American Hurricanes 14921870, many
hurricanes can be traced back to the early 1600s. He accomplished this primarily through
journals and diaries of people who lived through these events. When working with early
records, one needs to note that a change took place in the calendar. On September 2, 1752, we
changed from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar. This is the system that we
currently use today. The change added 9 days to the Julian Calendar so that the next day
became September 14th. I will use both the old date and the new date when specifying times
prior to September 2, 1752. The new date will be indicated in parenthesis. The earliest storm of
record here in the United States occurred on August 15, 1635 (Aug 25th). This storm was the
first of the early colonial hurricanes, and had a similar track to the Great Atlantic Hurricane of
1944 and Hurricane Edna of 1954. As described by Governor John Winthrop, of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony, This storm caused great destruction and uprooted thousands of
trees. This storm passed between Boston and Plymouth, Massachusetts, and was a fast mover.
Though Maine did not become a state until 1820, the territory was part of Massachusetts until
that time. Since the track was similar to two other destructive storms in Maine, I have included
it because of its proximity to this area, and to show the potential of storms here in Maine. On
September 24, 1638 (Oct 4th) the first recorded storm in Maine (Mass) occurred.

September 24 Monday, about 4 oclock in the afternoon, a fearful storm of wind began to
rage, called a hurricaneThe greatest mischief it did us, was the wracking of our shallops, and
the blowing down of many trees, in some places a mile together. This was taken from the
writings of John Jocelyn of Scarborough, Maine. The shallops indicated in this passage are small
boats that are used in shallow waters. On August 28, 1675, (Sept 7th), forty years after the first
colonial hurricane hit the area, another storm hit causing crop damage and trees to be blown
down. On August 13, 1683 (Aug 23rd) another storm hit and took a track similar to the
hurricane of 1938. This was an inland storm, and probably dropped heavy rain on Maine as it
caused major flooding in Connecticut. It also had a storm surge that doubled the tide in
Massachusetts. Dover, New Hampshire indicated it had an exceedingly high tide and was
stormy Seventy six years passed before the next storm was documented. This storm occurred
on October 23-24, 1761 and caused gale force winds across Casco Bay and the Bay of Fundy.
This storm tore up trees by the roots, however most damage was done to Boston and
Providence, Rhode Island.

On September 8, 1769 a strong northeast gale was described by Rev. Thomas Smith of Portland
as a dreadful storm. This storm had a forward motion of around 40 mph and a low pressure of
29.57. Damage was primarily confined to Newport, Rhode Island, but Maine experienced heavy
rain and wind, causing tree limbs to break. On October 20, 1770, Rev. Smith indicated an
exceedingly great storm had passed through the area. This storm had a low pressure of 28.96
Hg. On September 6, 1788, a strong storm uprooted trees, unroofed barns, destroyed orchards,
and killed many cattle. This storm was known as the Western New England Hurricane, but
caused damage far to the east. It created a 75 mile wide path of destruction in less than 30
minutes. Several people were killed by falling trees. The Great September Gale of 1815
occurred on September 23rd of that year. This storm was the greatest to hit this area since the
storm of 1635. It would not be for another 123 years when the next great storm occurred in
1938.
This storm probably developed in the eastern Atlantic off the Cape Verde Islands, and made its
first landfall in St. Barthelemy in the Caribbean. The storm passed the Turks and the Bahamas,
and accelerated to 50 mph. This storm caused great destruction inland, and the most damage
was to the east of the storm center. The storm split New England in half, and proceeded through
upstate New Hampshire into Canada. Six people died in the storm which inundated Providence.
In Maine there was probably much forest destruction.

On September 4, 1821, another storm came through New England, but too far to the west to
do much destruction in Maine. However, as an interesting note, this storm was studied by
William C. Redfield, who, by observing the path of destruction and the way that trees fell, had
determined that hurricanes were circular, and rotated around a center. The next storm of note
did not occur until 1858. On September 16th, strong gales from the southeast once again
occurred. Bangor reported they had one of the heaviest in years This storm continued until
midnight, and uprooted trees and blew down chimneys. Belfast, Maine reported that there was
minor damage to shipping. Central and Eastern Maine felt the strongest winds as they were in
the eastern side of the storm. The storm had a low pressure of 29.42 at Nantucket.

On September 8, 1869, Maine was affected by a hurricane that struck both coastal and inland
areas. This storm was the first since 1815 to affect inland areas, and allowed people in that area
to experience the full fury of a tropical storm. This storm caused greater destruction than the
hurricane of 1815. The storm made landfall on eastern Long Island, New York, and proceeded
rapidly to the north-northeast on a line of Milford, Framingham, Concord, Lawrence,
Massachusetts. It then proceeded to Dover, New Hampshire, Lewiston and Gardiner, Maine
before finally exiting to Canada. By 6:15 PM the storm was passing Lunenberg, Massachusetts as
the barometer fell to 28.60 Hg. By 8:30 PM, the storm had reached its peak in Portland, and by
9:00 PM, reached its peak in Lisbon with 54 mph winds. The storm passed by Gardiner at 10:00
PM.

Shortly thereafter, the winds lulled as the eye passed over. By 11:00 PM, the winds began to
pick up from the Southwest. Pressure in Gardiner was 29.14 at 9:00 PM. with nearly hurricane
force winds. The storm maintained its strength all the way into Canada, as it sunk two ships on
the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Washington County to the east had the worst of the storm between
10:00 PM and 1:00 AM. From that point, the storm moved off into Canada, leaving behind a 40
to 50 mile wide path of destruction in its wake. One interesting note about the damage was that
all of it occurred on the east side of the storm center. Areas to the west were not affected, even
as close as 10 miles. The damage from this storm was tremendous. In Bath, large trees were
uprooted, woodsheds and buildings were damaged, along with chimneys and fences.
 In Bath alone, damages were estimated between $25,000 to $50,000 (1869 dollars). 46 In
Portland, the newspapers indicated that it was the severest storm ever known in that city.
$6,000 dollars in damage occurred to the Catholic Cathedral when its steeple was blown down.
In addition, chimneys, telegraph wires, and tree branches littered the streets. Train service was
delayed for quite some time because of obstructions on the tracks. At the New England
Fairgrounds, the damage was great as many of the tents were either blown down or away. In
the Auburn and Lewiston area, there was considerable crop damage, and some minor damage
to awnings and trees. There was also some major damage, as the Baptist Church building was
demolished, and a 100x15 stable shed was blown down at the trotting course. In Lisbon, many
trees were blown down, and there was damage to signs and shutters, but no major damage to
buildings.

However, the Lisbon Falls bridge was damaged considerably. In other areas, the gable end of a
700x40 bakery was blown down in Westbrook. In Falmouth, a house and an outbuilding lost
their roofs. In Bangor, the damage was reported to be severe, and at least one house was
leveled. Other houses were blown down in Pittsfield and Old Town, and several other houses
lost their roofs. In addition a mill in Bradley burned to the ground causing $25,000 damage. In
York County, a Tornado was spawned and caused general destruction at around 8 PM. One
house was blown over by this event. Statewide, the apple crop was damaged, and there was
much damage to ships and other vessels. All along the Maine coast, there were 30 wrecked
ships. In Casco Bay, the Helen Eliza, a schooner out of Rockport, Massachusetts, was wrecked off
of Peaks Island with a loss of all but one of her crew of 12.

On October 4, 1869, a second storm within two weeks hit the State of Maine. This storm, known
as Saxbys Gale brought more destruction to the coastline. The storms name came from a British
Naval Lieutenant by the name of S.M. Saxby who predicted in November 1868 that a storm
would occur with unusual violence and high tides on October 5, 1869.

This prediction was made due to the proximity of the moon to the earths equator. Saxby had
previous success with these predictions, and was taken somewhat seriously. In Maine,
Washington County took the brunt of the storm, but was felt all along the Maine coast. A strong
storm surge affected many of the rivers and tributaries up to 55 miles inland. At Fredericton,
NB, the tide was reported to have risen 3 feet. The storm surge was not the only story from this
storm, it was also the rain. From the middle Atlantic through New England, heavy rains fell as
the storm merged with a low pressure area to the west. Up to 6 inches of rain was reported
from many areas.
Here in Maine, Lisbon reported 2.70 inches and there were reports that the Androscoggin River
rose to its highest stage since the famous floods of 1832. Wind damage was light in this area as
winds blew around 45 mph. The barometric pressure from this storm fell to 28.99 Hg. at
Gardiner around 7:00 PM. As I mentioned above, the winds inland were not strong enough to
cause much serious damage. However, as one man was driving from Eastport to Calais, he
counted 90 houses blown down or seriously damaged. As another man put it there never
was such a gale hereabouts as this since the country was settledThe tide rose beyond all
precedent.

The Tropical Storm of August 25, 1888, began off the coast of Florida as the sixth storm of the
season, and began moving to the northeast at an average pace. However, As it passed Cape
Hatteras, the storm increased its forward speed to 30 mph. As it did this, the storm track
remained off the coast, and the storm did not have an opportunity to lose much strength. When
the storm reached Maine, it caused damage primarily to shipping in the area. In Portland,
several schooners were dragged ashore. It is estimated that the winds were in excess of 50 mph.

The Storm of 1893 formed in the middle Atlantic on August 15, 1893, and was the fourth storm
of the season. Two days later it was classified a hurricane as it moved toward the west-
northwest. As it did this, it reached its peak wind of 98 mph on August 18th. The next day, the
storm began its curve to the North and held its intensity until just south of New England. The
storm made landfall to the east of New York City and caused substantial damage in Southern
New England. The storm continued to track to the north and then northeast, passing across
New Hampshire and the Northwestern border of Maine before heading into Canada. As it
crossed over western Maine, some minimal damage was done. In Portland, one schooner was
run aground. It is estimated that the winds were near hurricane strength as it traveled through
the area.

The Hurricane of 1894 formed on October 1st just east of Central America. The storm began
moving to the northwest at a very slow rate of around 5 mph. This continued for much of the
storms history. As the storm headed into the Gulf of Mexico, it began to curve toward the
northeast. The storm made initial landfall along the Florida panhandle, and skirted the coastline
through Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia before moving back out over the water. As the
storm moved over the water, its forward speed increased to 27 mph, and it began to curve more
to the north-northeast.

On October 10th, the storm made its second landfall near the Connecticut and Rhode Island
border. As the storm moved northeast, the storm split into two sections which rejoined when it
reached Maine. By 9 PM, the rejoined center of the storm passed to the west of Portland,
Maine before heading off into Canada. Damage in Maine was minimal, but it was not restricted
to coastal areas. Heavy rains fell, and caused some minor flooding. Three schooners were lost
off of Cape Elizabeth, and several others were destroyed elsewhere in Maine. There was also
damage to telegraph wires throughout the area.

On August 16, 1924, the seasons second storm formed off the coast of South America. As the
storm moved to the northwest, it did not develop very quickly. In fact, it took five days before it
became a hurricane on August 21st. At this point, the storm was located to the east of the
Bahamas and Turks Islands. The storm intensified to a category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale on
August 24th and it slowed down to only 3 mph. As the storm continued northwest, it eventually
stalled off the coast of Florida. Later on August 24th, the storm changed direction, and began
moving to the northeast. As it moved to the northeast, the storm began to accelerate. Slowly at
first, but by August 26th the storm was moving forward at a rate of 40 mph.

The storm remained offshore, and quickly moved toward Nova Scotia. As the storm passed to
the southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, it caused extensive damage. It is estimated that the
winds were close to 100 mph near the center of the storm. Boston received a total of 4.37 of
rain in 14 hours. Even the Boston area received damage from this storm. Hundreds of yachts
and several ocean liners were caught in the storm. Many of the yachts were dragged ashore by
the high winds. In Maine, there were only minor reports of damage, and no injuries were
reported. However, south of Maine, many people were killed in this storm. For the most part,
this was a rain and wind storm for the State of Maine.

The Hurricane of 1927 formed to the east of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean on August 19,
1927. This storm rapidly intensified to hurricane strength on the same day. Because of the lack
of reports on this storm prior to its discovery, it is most likely that the storm originally formed
somewhere to the east of this point. This storm was the first of the 1927 hurricane season. As
the storm moved over warmer waters, it intensified to a Category 3 storm on August 22nd. It
maintained that strength over the open waters of the Caribbean until late the next day. On
August 23rd, the storm began to weaken slowly as it moved into higher latitudes and over
colder water.

The storm eventually curved northeast, and made landfall in Nova Scotia. This storm produced
heavy rain which in turn caused flooding in many parts of New England. The flooding was
primarily concentrated in central Massachusetts, near Worcester. Portland, Maine had dense
fog and the rain came down at more than 1 inch per hour causing minor street flooding. Total
rainfall for Portland was 2.09 inches, while further to the northwest, Lewiston received a little
less than one half inch. The pressure in Eastport, Maine fell to as low as 29.34 Hg. as the storm
passed. There were no reports of damage from this storm.
The Storm of 1929 formed to the north of Puerto Rico on September 22nd and moved at an
average rate of around 11 mph curving initially to the northeast and then to the northwest. This
storm was the second of only three during the 1929 hurricane season and was by far the
strongest. However, this was not the case for Maine. As the storm moved northwest, it began to
strengthen and slow its forward speed. By September 24th, the storm was located to the
northeast of Grand Bahama Island when it suddenly made a sharp turn to the southwest. The
storm hit the Bahamian island head on at a strength of nearly Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson
scale.

As the storm passed through the Bahamas, causing extensive damage, it began to re-curve to
the northwest, heading for the Florida panhandle. The storm made its second landfall on
September 30th near Apalachicola, Florida. However, the storm had diminished to only a
Category 1 storm. As the storm moved inland, it continued to lose strength, so that by the time
it reached Maine, the storm produce peak winds of only 24 mph at Portland. The storm crossed
through northern New England, passing Maine on the October 3rd & 4th. Prior to the storms
arrival, the State of Maine was experiencing a dry spell. Heavy rains from this storm were very
beneficial. In Portland, the rain began on October 3rd at 7:00 PM and ended around 8 AM on
the 4th. A total of 1.88 inches of rain fell on the city, and flooded many cellars. The lowest
barometer reading in Maine was 29.32. No other damage was reported.

The storm surge from Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall on August 29, 2005, caused
catastrophic damage along the coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Levees
separating Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans were breached, ultimately flooding about 80%
of the city. Additionally, major wind damage was reported as far as 200 miles inland. Katrina is
now considered the deadliest and costliest hurricane in the U.S. in over 80 years. In all, more
than 1,400 people were killed and damages are estimated to have exceeded more than $75
billion. Images of despair and suffering haunted the American public as news reports from New
Orleans were beamed into living rooms all over the country and internationally. Media reports
and subsequent inquiries of the rescue and relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
have been critical of the failures of the official infrastructure, and identified gaps that need to be
addressed before the onset of the next hurricane season. Yet relatively little systematic
attention has been focused on the perceptions of those who were affected by Hurricane
Katrina, probing the range of services that were actually delivered and noting specific needs
that remained unmet.
In an ongoing series of studies aiming to systematically gauge relief effectiveness by assessing
the perceptions and needs of those affected by natural disasters, Fritz Institute commissioned
Harris Interactive to conduct a rigorous assessment of people affected by Hurricane Katrina. We
were particularly interested in the perceptions of people about the help that they received in
the first 48 hours and the first 30 days after the storm hit, as the intent of this study was to
identify the performance of the system of relief delivery in order to better prepare for the
disasters of the future. The questions used were adapted from a broader database of questions
developed by Fritz Institute in 2005 to study the perceptions of those affected by the Asian
Tsunami 48 hours, sixty days and nine months after the disaster. The lessons learned from the
hurricane-affected are critical in creating the strategic infrastructure for the future,
incorporating valuable insight from the ground that is rarely leveraged in preparing for disasters.

This report presents a summary of findings from research conducted among a total of 1,089
adults affected by Hurricane Katrina who were living in Louisiana, Alabama or Mississippi before
the storm hit. Given the difficulties in locating people affected by Hurricane Katrina several
months after the disaster, Harris Interactive used a combination of online, telephone and in-
person methodologies. First, an online survey was conducted, which resulted in a total of 685
completed interviews, conducted between November 3 and 14, 2005. To locate people who
were directly affected by Hurricane Katrina, and who might not have been living in their own
dwelling, we identified geographies hit by the storm using zip codes provided by the United
States Postal Service. These zip codes were then matched up to those within Harris Interactive's
online panel member database and email invitations were sent to a sample of people in the
corresponding locales. In order to participate in this study, respondents had to confirm that, at
the time Hurricane Katrina struck, they did in fact live in the affected area. These people
affected by Katrina were spread across 25 states throughout the country. After reviewing the
online survey results and the demographic profile of survey participants, an additional survey
was conducted using telephone and in-person methodologies. In this wave, a total of 404
interviews were conducted by telephone (297) or in-person (107) between January 13 and 26,
2006. For the second stage, the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army provided lists of
service recipients with current phone numbers and addresses for the recipients. Furthermore, a
series of hotels and shelters housing hurricane survivors receiving help were identified from a
number of relief agencies in the region. In-person interviews were conducted in Alabama,
Louisiana and Mississippi. The survey asked those impacted by Katrina to recall details about
their own experience during and after Hurricane Katrina, which had occurred several months
earlier. The questions covered a range of issues from attitudes, perceptions and decisions they
made about storm evacuation to relief operations and rescue, and storm aftermath. Figures for
the online results were weighted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household
income where necessary, to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.
Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online. All
surveys are subject to several sources of error.1 These include: sampling error (because only a
sample of a population is interviewed); measurement error due to question wording and/or
question order, deliberately or unintentionally inaccurate responses, nonresponse (including
refusals), interviewer effects (when live interviewers are used) and weighting. Hurricane Katrina:
Perceptions of the Affected 3 1 With one exception (sampling error) the magnitude of.

While the majority of those affected by Katrina evacuated before the storm made landfall
(58%), a significant minority did not leave their homes (42%) (see Table 1). This non-evacuee
population represents just over 1 million (1,071,420) adults living in Katrina-affected areas. Of
the non-evacuee population in this sample, just over half (53%) resided in Mississippi, about
one-fifth resided in Alabama (17%), 3% resided in New Orleans and about one-quarter (26%)
resided in other parts of Louisiana. Interestingly, the demographic composition of the evacuee
and non-evacuee populations was quite similar. Differences based on the following subgroups
were minimal: employment, marital status, number of children in the household, type of
residence, race and income and gender. Those who did not evacuate had vivid memories of the
frightening power and devastation of the storm, recalling strong winds (51%), heavy rains (39%),
uprooted trees (21%) and damaged buildings (17%). I recall the wind and the glass breaking. I
recall the rain. It made me scared to death. I was terrified, remembered a Katrina survivor.
The aftermath left us without power, it was quiet. It was a shock you see things like this on
television, but you never think it will happen to you. The debris was everywhere there were
destroyed cars and trees, all the wires from the light poles were broken. I saw our city
destroyed, and we responded as best we could, there was no power or water for miles. I recall
seeing the height of the water. People were stranded on their roofs. We were not prepared. It
was amazing to see how many people did not leave. They could send the Navy anywhere in the
world and they did not send them to help with these people stranded. It made me feel angry
because they should have been more prepared. They knew New Orleans is below sea level, they
should have been more prepared. Everyone just wanted to find friends and relatives. A
CLOSER LOOK AT THE NON-EVACUEE POPULATION While the profile of evacuees and non-
evacuees is similar, non-evacuees clearly fall into two camps - those who chose not to evacuate
and those who could not evacuate because of limited means. Of those who did not evacuate,
about one-third (32%) indicate that this was mainly by choice reporting that they did not want
to leave their homes (82%), their pets (44%) and their family (18%) (see Table 2). Non-evacuees
who chose to stay are primarily men (62%), white (75%), have attended at least some college
(61%), are married (62%), do not have kids (74%) and have no disabilities (83%). This group of
non-evacuees also appears to be better off financially. Non-evacuees by choice report that they
are employed (67%) with household incomes of more than $50,000 (36%). Of those who chose
not to evacuate, 56% were from Mississippi, 26% were from Louisiana and 18% were from
Alabama. The other group of non-evacuees - those who could not evacuate because of limited
means - represents nearly three-in-ten (28%) of non-evacuees or at least 289,283 adults living in
Katrina-affected KEY FINDINGS Hurricane Katrina: Perceptions of the Affected 5 areas. Of those
who reported evacuation was not feasible because of limited means, seven-in-ten (71%) cite
having nowhere else to go, and nearly four-in-ten (37%) did not have a car and reported they
were not able to leave their houses without assistance (36%) (see Table 2). The non-evacuee
population who reported that they did not have the means to evacuate tended to be poorer
(84%) with incomes less than $50,000, African American (58%), women (66%), and over half
(57%) indicated that their highest degree was a high school education or less. This group of
people was also more likely to report that they have a physical disability (32%), are not married
(56%), have children (60%) and are not employed (53%). Of those who could not evacuate
because of means, 41% were from Louisiana, 39% were from Mississippi and 20% were from
Alabama (see Table 3). 2. A Significant Minority of Non-Evacuees Had to Wait More Than a
Week Before They Received Aid. FIRST SIGNS OF HELP While local organizations, government
agencies and national non-profit organizations provided relief post-Katrina, there were
significant differences in the amount of time that passed between the hurricane and the arrival
of relief across the region. As was reported in the media, it took significantly more time to get to
some groups of people. Of non-evacuees in this sample, 40% said they received some form of
outside assistance in the first 48 hours after Katrina struck, which means that 60% did not. Non-
evacuees who resided in Alabama (50%) and Mississippi (42%) were more likely to receive aid in
the first 48 hours than were residents of Louisiana (32%). Focusing on assistance delivered in
the first 48 hours, those who had greater financial means were more likely to be the recipients
of immediate aid. The following groups of people were most likely to receive aid in the first 48
hours: those with a college education or more (43%), those with a household income of $50,000
or more (52%), those who chose not to evacuate (40%) and those without disabilities (44%).

Other groups of people who were more likely to receive aid in the first 48 hours were men
(44%), non-evacuees without children (44%), non-evacuees living in single-family homes (43%)
and white non-evacuees (47%). About 26% of non-evacuees in this sample (at least 278,569
adults from Katrina affected areas) said that the first forms of outside assistance did not arrive
for at least one week after Katrina made landfall. Those who were more likely to say that they
had to wait at least one week include African Americans (33%) and other ethnic minorities
(35%), non-evacuees with disabilities (43%), those between the ages of 35-54 (30%), those with
household incomes of less than $35,000 (33%) and those who did not evacuate because of
means (30%). As has been reported widely in the press, residents of Louisiana (40%) were more
likely to have to wait longer to receive aid. This delayed response may be attributed to the
extent of damage Louisiana sustained during Katrina. A CLOSER LOOK AT THE FIRST 48 HOURS
Of non-evacuees who reported receiving assistance in the first 48 hours, about one-third (32%)
say that non-governmental organizations came to help, followed by the local police (30%) and
religious and church groups (26%). Only one-in-five of those impacted by Katrina recalled
receiving assistance from FEMA (18%) or the military or Coast Guard (17%) (see Table 4).
 This information is relevant because those who received more immediate assistance (within the
first 48 hours) find the road to recovery more bearable, with 51% of non-evacuees receiving aid
in the first 48 hours reporting that they feel a sense of improved personal security compared to
44% of those who had to wait longer to receive aid. While those who received aid in the first 48
hours were more likely to feel a sense of personal security than those who had to wait longer to
receive aid, it is important to keep in mind that nearly half of those who received immediate aid
(in the first 48 hours) did not feel this sense of personal security. 3. One Month After Katrina,
Food, Water and Financial Support Were Provided to the Majority of People Affected by the
Storm. However, Respondents Report that Other Essential Forms of Relief, Such as Counseling,
Job Placement and Assistance Locating Family and Friends, Were not Available to As Many
People Affected by Katrina. BASIC RELIEF AND EVALUATION OF DELIVERY - FIRST MONTH AFTER
KATRINA While there is room for improvement in the speed and distribution of relief services,
the majority of those affected by Katrina did receive some form of aid within the first month
after the hurricane and were complimentary of those who attended to their needs. Focusing on
the first month after the hurricane, about two-thirds of those affected by Katrina reported
receiving relief in the form of food and water (67%) (see Table 5). Over 49% identified the
delivery of food and water as most efficient, followed by financial support (24%) (see Table 6).
The majority of those receiving food and water also reported that this assistance was on-time
(81%), adequate (88%) and delivered in a caring manner (91%). However, this means that
between 10 and 20 percent (or approximately 255,100 - 510,200 adults living in Katrina affected
areas), reported that food and water relief services were not on-time (19%), adequate (12%)
and delivered in a caring manner (9%). Financial support was the second most widely
distributed relief service; approximately two-thirds (63%) reported receiving this form of
assistance within the first month after Katrina. However, nearly four-inten (39%) felt that the
distribution of financial assistance could use the most improvement in terms of efficient service
delivery, followed by food and water (16%) and temporary shelter (9%) (see Table 6).

Beyond this basic relief of food, water and financial support, access to additional relief services
was more limited. More than three-quarters of those who were affected by Katrina did not
receive shelter or relocation services or clothes. Only about one-in-ten (13%) reported receiving
assistance locating missing family and friends (see Table 5). Likewise, only 6% reported receiving
counseling services and only 2% reported receiving assistance with job placement. However, the
vast majority of those who received each of these services reported that they were timely,
accessible and delivered in a caring manner. In other words, where the capacity to provide
these services existed, the services were executed to the satisfaction of the recipients.

However, one must not discount the significant minorities that thought these services were not
timely, accessible and delivered in a caring manner. Louisiana residents affected by Katrina
seemed to be most critical of the delivery of relief services. Louisiana residents were least likely
to think that financial support was adequate (65%) and easily accessible (60%). They were also
least likely to think that counseling services were delivered in a caring manner (66%) that
maintained the dignity of the recipiHurricane Katrina: Perceptions of the Affected 6 ent (62%).
This means that between 34% and 40% of Louisiana residents affected by Katrina were not
satisfied with the delivery of relief services.