Tropical Wave is one you hear
frequently before a storm forms.
A tropical wave is an unorganized area
of storms traveling West out of Africa.
These are important to follow
because around 85% of major
hurricanes begin as tropical waves.
Another common term you hear,
invest invest stands for investigative area.
When a tropical wave becomes
more organized, the National
Hurricane Center will designate the area of
disturbed weather invest.
Each invest is given a number from 90 to 99.
For example, invest 90 L.
The L tells us the system is in the Atlantic.
This also allows the NHC to run
ensemble models or spaghetti models.
On these systems.
You might also hear the term
cyclone during hurricane season.
A cyclone is a blanket term for any area
of low pressure that has closed circulation,
hurricanes, tropical storms and
tropical depressions are all cyclone.
Hurricanes are like giant heat engines
in the atmosphere, using warm,
unstable air as fuel.
As the air is pulled into the hurricane,
it spirals towards the center,
getting faster and faster,
eventually rising to create
the giant cumulonimbus clouds
that encircle the calm eye.
This unbroken vertical wall
of clouds is the eyewall,
the convergence of winds.
Here is so strong that the air
rises faster and with more
force than anywhere else.
In a hurricane,
producing intense rain and damaging
winds in the strongest storms,
this can translate to
surface winds over 150 mph.
The Dirty side of a storm refers to the
area of a hurricane or tropical system
where you'll find the highest winds,
highest storm surge,
and the greatest tornado threat.
So what side of the storm is that?
Well, generally it's the northeast
side of the storm, or more.
Simply put, the right side of the storm,
but it also depends on which
direction the storm is moving.
If it's traveling in a northern direction,
The Dirty side will be more on the.
Direct right hand or eastern
side if the storm is traveling
in a more western direction,
The Dirty side will be more on
top of it or the northern side.
So what makes it so dirty?
It's all about the wind direction
and a little math.
For example,
if a storm is moving north at 30
mph and has wind speeds of 100 mph,
then the storm will produce winds
of 130 mph on the right dirty
side while on the left side winds
move in the opposite direction
of the storms movement.
So they'll be slower at 70 mph.
It is important to remember though,
as a storm grows stronger,
every side becomes dangerous.
Hurricane hunters provide a lot
of information about a storm,
but how are they getting inside?
They're flying a plane called a WC130J.
Like this one.
It's a modified version of the C130
plane that you might see dropping
the red stuff on a fire out West.
These planes are tough.
They can fly for longer periods of time
and they can really take a beating.
These airborne science missions are run
by the 53rd weather reconnaissance.
Quadrant, which has been flying
into storms since 1944 in the
cargo section of the plane,
there are two different pallets of
computer systems that take all of
the data from the sensors on the
planes exterior to help determine
what's going on inside the storm.
The hunters also dropped these
parachute type sensors called robsons,
which float through the storm,
relaying info about a storm's pressure,
wind speed and direction.
That information all comes together,
gets processed,
and is then shared through
the National Hurricane Center.
For us to share with all of you.
Storm surge happens when the
strong winds of the hurricane blow
over the ocean or gulf water,
literally forcing the water to
pile up as it approaches the coast
that can cause water levels to
jump anywhere from 1 foot to well
over 20 feet above normal levels.
But wind speed isn't the only factor in
determining a potential surge effect.
The storm size, intensity, shape,
speed and angle of approach all matter,
along with the coast and slope of the ocean.
Floor and remember this the category
ranking of a storm doesn't always
correlate to the storm surge threat.
Weaker category one or two storms have
been known to produce higher surges
than their stronger counterparts,
so it is important to listen for and to
understand those storm surge warnings
so you can react early and quickly
to keep you and your family safe.
To refresh your knowledge,
storm surge is quite literally
a surge of water
being pushed ashore by the
force of a storms wind.
In many cases storm surge is more dangerous
because of the power of the moving water
and the coastal flooding potential.
It brings one to three feet of
water can't knock you off your feet
and stall your car above 3 feet.
That water can actually carry your car away.
If you're still home when the
water gets up to six feet,
you and your family would have to seek
higher ground like a second story or roof.
A 12 foot surge would fill the entire
first floor of most homes and potentially
knock your home off of its foundation,
so it's important to listen for and to
understand those storm surge warnings
so you can react early and quickly
to keep you and your family safe.
The last few years,
a lot of conversation has been happening
around the strength and number of hurricanes.
Are they getting stronger?
Are we seeing more and is it
because of climate change?
Let's take a look at the science.
There are two main questions when talking
about climate change and hurricanes.
Will hurricanes become more frequent
and will hurricanes become more
intense as the climate warms,
the answers might surprise you.
Data suggests that yes,
oceans and atmosphere continue to warm,
but it also shows that wind shear.
They'll begin to increase.
That's important,
because wind shear can rip
hurricanes apart or even keep them
from forming in the 1st place,
and that suggests the frequency of
weaker hurricanes could drop overtime.
However,
the storms that do form could be stronger
thanks to those rising water temps.
That warm water is the perfect
fuel to throttle these storms up.
But we should say the study of storms
and climate change is complicated
because of a lack of historical data.
It could likely take decades.
Before we truly know the effect
of climate change on hurricanes.